We Are Broken
by thewritershavetheTARDIS
Summary: The Dark curse is now broken. Maeve Scarlet, infamous assassin, is now avoiding death-by-angry-townsfolk and moving on with her new life. Storybrooke is her second chance - but will Maeve be forced to watch as history repeats itself? [Starts in season one; currently in season two.]
1. Lindsey

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters. It's just me and Lindsey. ;) **

It was late afternoon in Storybrooke, Maine, and I walked down Main Street with my eyes trained intently on the pages of my notebook, which I clutched tightly in front of me.

My gaze traced my flourished handwriting across the page, studying every letter, committing every word to memory. I had spent the entirety of last period scribbling in my book; I had much more pressing issues to deal with than the Pacific ocean's foodwebs. I had dreams to write down.

I'd been having the dreams for months, all of them terrifying me: I would wake up in the pressing shadows of my bedroom, tangled in my blankets with an awful headache pounding against my skull. The dreams always felt like memories - or rather, glimpses of them. There was never anything substantial: a pair of gleaming blue eyes, a young girl's laugh, a blazing bonfire, a blood-chilling scream. The shattered moments would play through my mind, tossing me through a whirlwind of images and feelings that left me dizzy and shaking.

After the first month, I had decided to write some of the dreams down, and soon my notebook was filled with them: feverish handwriting describing a texture or a scent, a quick sketch of a boy's eyes or the fletching of an arrow.

It was during my fourth period science class that I had inscribed my latest vision: the short paragraph describing a man's laugh, and the roar of a bonfire. My eyes went to the drawings, which depicted a fluttering emerald skirt and the lower half of a girl's face, her lips quirked up in a smirk.

Turning onto my own street, I walked up the steps to the small brownstone building I called home. It wasn't anything special - yellowing crabgrass out front, timeworn steps up the porch, the number 2 in 23 knocked slightly askew - but I didn't mind the shabbiness. I tended to avoid any kind of grandeur, successfully melting into the backdrop as I scribbled in my notebook.

I walked in the front door, which Caroline always left unlocked for me, and trudged up the stairs to my bedroom. Firmly shutting the door, I kicked off my shoes and pulled off the school uniform, dropping it unceremoniously onto the unmade bed and walking over to my dresser, where I rifled through a drawer in search of clothes.

Pulling on a sweater and leggings, I curled up on my bed, back against the headboard and a blanket draped over my lap. My notebook sat on top of the blanket, and I examined my sketch of the skirt. It was swirling around someone's knees, as if the wearer were dancing. A sudden wave of vertigo washed over me, and I leaned my head back against the wall, closing my eyes to stem the dizziness.

A shout sounded from below the floorboards, someone yelling "Lindsey!" I sighed and rolled off of my bed, stretching and padding across the room to the door. I paused at the mirror on top of the dresser: glancing back at my sketch, I gently touched my fingertips to my lips, which I quirked up into a smirk nearly identical to my drawing.

"Lindsey!" I heard from downstairs again, and the shout snapped me out of my trance. Walking out of my bedroom, I shoved all thoughts of the dreams from my mind.


	2. The Thing You Love Most

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or setting or anything of OUAT. Just Lindsey/Maeve. :)**

"This may just be the absolute worst idea you've ever had."

I was sitting on a barstool at Granny's diner, my elbows planted firmly on the counter and my chin resting in my palms. I was glaring at one of my best - well, only - friends, Ruby Lucas, who was making a pot of coffee.

"Why won't you just have a bit of fun?" Ruby asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's not _fun_, Ruby - it's a double date with some guy I don't even know. Sorry, but I'm not going." I shook my head, crossing my arms defiantly.

"God, you're stubborn - by the way, why aren't you at school, Linds? It's a Tuesday."

"Free period," I said, to which Ruby raised a skeptical eyebrow. I relented. "It's government, Ruby. Who cares if I miss one class?" I paused. "Or several."

Sliding a cup of coffee across the counter to Leroy, who looked about as cheerful as always, Ruby turned back to look me dead in the eye and said, "Back on topic: if you don't go, Lindsey Welles, I will never forgive you or set you up with anyone ever again. Then you'll be alone forever, and die an old spinster." She paused thoughtfully, then added, "Or a crazy cat lady. I don't think spinsters exist anymore."

I sighed through my nose, trying to ignore my friend's spinster ramblings. "You can't make me go, alright?"

"What if you just meet him -" Ruby began, but I shook my head firmly before she even finished the sentence.

"Ruby, I am not going and that is final."

"Fine," the older girl said, turning back to her work and walking expertly in her heels back to the kitchen.

I glanced out the diner window, and spotted the town's one and only police car driving down Main street - with someone in the backseat. Curiosity piqued, I pushed off of the barstool and walked out of the diner.

Walking into the police station, I took my usual seat in front of the holding cells, flipping through my aunt's text messages: it was mostly about not getting involved in police business. I suppressed a snort.

For ages, I had been the town's resident miscreant and mystery-lover. I was bothering the Sheriff constantly to let me help with police business, until he finally relented and agreed that I could help out at the station as an intern. This meant running errands, filling out Graham's paperwork, keeping the station in decent condition - anything the Sheriff could task me with.

I was waiting only a minute before Graham made an appearance, walking inside with a thin blonde in tow. The Sheriff looked a bit exasperated as he led the woman over to the wall, where he proceeded to set up the camera. I quickly closed the game on my phone and walked over to stand behind Graham, curious.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" he remarked without looking at me. I rolled my eyes, muttering something about "government" and "useless", and peered at the woman, who looked incredibly irritated as she shifted around in the handcuffs.

"Oh, right - Lindsey, Miss Swan. Miss Swan, Lindsey." The blonde nodded at me and turned her attention back to Graham.

"You know the shrink's lying, right?" she asked, blinking at the flash as the Sheriff took the first shot. My eyebrows lifted to my hairline: the shrink . . . Archie? Archie Hopper, lying? I nearly laughed at the accusation.

"Turn to the right," Graham said, and the woman complied. He added, "Why would he lie?"

"The mayor put him up to it," Miss Swan explained. There was another flash and he pulled the next mugshot from the camera. "He's terrified of her, just like everyone in this town."

"Not me," I said, looking up from the game of Angry Birds I had reopened. Miss Swan raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. "She's just a person - it's not her that scares people, but the dirt she has on everyone."

"And the dirt she has on you . . . it doesn't scare you?" Miss Swan asked dubiously.

I shook her head, fingertips dancing across my phone screen as I spoke. "She doesn't have any dirt on me. As a noted miscreant and troublemaker -" at this I tossed Graham a small grin, which he returned grudgingly as he printed the last photo "-I may have skeletons, but they left the closet a while ago." There was a pause. "The whole psychopath thing also helps with avoiding fear."

"Regardless," Graham said. "Regina may come off as intimidating, but she wouldn't go as far as a framejob."

I shot him an incredulous glance, not sure about that myself. A frame job didn't really seem past someone like Regina Mills - ticking her off was like poking a grizzly bear when it was sleeping. An overprotective mommy grizzly bear in power suits.

"How far would she go?" Miss Swan asked. "What does she have her hands in?"

"Well, she is the mayor," Graham said, shrugging.

"Everything," I mock-whispered over his shoulder, still focused on my phone game. Graham gave me a look, and I returned it rather challengingly: was he seriously going to deny how powerful Regina Mills was?

"Everything?" Miss Swan repeated suspiciously. "Including the police force?" At this Graham tossed her the same look he'd given me.

The door to the station swung open and Mary Margaret Blanchard and Henry Mills hurried in. I looked from them to Miss Swan to Graham and back again curiously.

"Henry, what are you doing here?"

"His mother told him what happened," Mary Margaret explained to the Sheriff.

"Of course she did," Miss Swan said in annoyance, looking pointedly at Graham. I walked over to Mary Margaret and watched the blonde and the little boy talk.

"Hey, Linds," the teacher said quietly, and I smiled back and whispered, "Who's the blonde?" Henry was going on about Operation Cobra again - everyone had heard it at one point or another.

"Henry's birth mother," the woman whispered back, and I watched the pair for a long moment before nodding in understanding: he did sort of have her eyes.

"He found her, then?" The teacher nodded. "And let me guess: Regina isn't happy?" Mary Margaret nodded again, looking a bit disappointed. I was still amazed at the woman's ability to sympathise with people.

"So she did frame her, didn't she?" But before any answer could be spoken, Henry piped up and said to Graham: "Miss Blanchard's going to bail her out."

Instantly, the blonde looked at Mary Margaret. "You are? Why?"

The teacher seemed a bit shocked herself as she said, "I, uh, trust you."

Graham unlocked Miss Swan's handcuffs, and she walked out of the station with a determined glint in her eyes that I couldn't help but respect. Mary Margaret and Henry quickly left, and Graham looked up at me.

"Are you going to go back to school?" he asked me wearily, and I raised an eyebrow.

"It's government, Graham. _Government_."

"What does that mean?"

I sighed, then held out my hands. "If you could arrest me instead, I'd be grateful."

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading this! Sorry it's a bit slow at the moment, but I promise it'll pick up soon. :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo**


	3. Police Business

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT, or any of its characters - those all belong to Adam and Eddie. :) **

* * *

I downed the rest of my tea, only half paying attention to Ruby's words as I sketched in my notebook.

" . . . and that is exactly why you should come on the double date," the older girl concluded with a triumphant grin, placing a stack of plates on the counter.

"Right," I said quietly, focused on the pair of eyes I'd just drawn. I hated how familiar yet alien they seemed: a memory dancing across the back of my mind, just out of reach.

"Are you even listening?" Ruby demanded. When there was no response, she snapped her fingers under my nose. "Hello? Earth to Lindsey?"

I started, glancing up at my friend in confusion. "What did you say?"

Ruby sighed dramatically and leaned her elbows on the table. "Never mind - I'll bring out the list again later." I rolled my eyes and turned a page in my notebook.

"Can you believe that pairing?" Ruby asked quietly, nodding over to a table right behind my barstool.

I turned my head to see Mary Margaret and Dr. Whale sitting at a table together, the teacher doing all the talking. She seemed a bit nervous, despite how calm the doctor appeared.

"Honestly, it's ridiculous," Ruby said, watching Whale irritably. "Someone like Mary Margaret and someone like _Whale _. . . honestly, I might puke."

I nodded silently, pressing my lips together. I knew about the doctor's thing for my friend - good Lord, anyone with eyes knew about it - but I was also aware that Ruby would never do anything to hurt Mary Margaret.

"Ruby, clear up that table over there, would you?" Granny asked from the kitchen. The older girl sighed and walked off.

I twirled my empty teacup in my hands as Whale's eyes followed Ruby to the other table. I tasted a bit of bile as I noticed the way he stared at my friend, and while on a date with Mary Margaret. It took every bit of restraint I had not to smack him.

Mary Margaret soon noticed the direction of Whale's gaze as well, and quickly called on Ruby for the check. The girl nodded, and sighed at me as she passed me.

I closed my notebook, dropped some coins on the counter, and walked out of the diner. It was nearly ten, and Caroline would murder me if I stayed out any later - it was, quite unfortunately, a school night.

* * *

_I stand over the man, who is all grime and tattered rags. He kneels at my feet, his chest heaving as he sucks in panicked breaths. He is staring up at me, his eyes wide with fear. I reach down and twist my fingers in the fabric of his shirt, dragging him to his feet. _

_"Please, don't," he sobs as I throw him against a wall. "Please."_

_He screams, and suddenly I'm in a vast hall, a man a foot taller than me spinning me around, his hands clasping mine tightly. I smile up at him, but it feels incredibly false, a swell of sadness heavy in my chest._

_He spins me again, and then the images start: a young girl laughs next to me, the tall man shoves me to a cold stone floor, fire burns around me and the floorboards beneath me give way, and I fall through them into a room full of grandly-dressed people dancing, and the visions come faster and faster until I feel breathless and terrified._

My eyes snapped open to Caroline hanging over my bed, her hand on my shoulder, shaking me. My throat felt raw, and I knew I'd been screaming; her warm brown eyes were brimming with worry as she helped me sit up.

"Are you alright?" Caroline whispered, her fingers still digging into my shoulder. I knew she was just trying to be reassuring, but the dream was already fading away, and I wanted to remember it. For some reason, I felt as if I needed to write down those dreams: as if they were a part of me I might've forgotten.

"Yeah, I just - I just need a minute, okay?" I looked up at my aunt pleadingly, and she nodded, walking out of the bedroom.

I listened to her walk down the stairs, and the moment she was gone, leapt over to my dresser and flipped my notebook open to a fresh page, uncapping a pen and hastily scribbling everything I could remember - but the details were growing fuzzy.

In the end, the one thing that stuck out clear as day was the man in the ragged clothes: the panic in his eyes as my dream-self threw him against the wall, as if looking into the face of death. His expression sent a stab of inexplicable remorse through me; no one had ever looked at me like that before.

So why did I feel so guilty?

* * *

I was reading Caroline's battered paperback copy of _The Magician's Nephew _when Graham strode quickly out of the police station, towards the sheriff's car. I quickly closed my book and stuffed it in my bag as I walked up to his side.

"Where're you going?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. I was always excited when Graham looked this hassled: it meant something interesting was happening.

He shot me a look that clearly said "You're not coming" before sliding into the driver's side of the police car. I quickly opened the passenger side door and hopped inside.

Graham glared at me as I closed the door and said flatly, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Your internship ended in August."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Just sating my incessant curiosity by going out with my good friend, Graham the Sheriff."

He growled something unintelligible, and I turned puppy eyes on him. "Please? Please, please, please, please, _please _let me come with you?"

"Have you been camping outside the station?" he asked me, and I shook my head in an immediate lie. I hadn't camped outside the station - I just liked to read on the bench across the street. For several hours a day. Maybe Caroline was right, and I needed to get a better hobby than trespassing on police business.

I gave him my best puppy eyes, and Graham sighed heavily before turning the key in the ignition. "Fine. Just stay quiet, and for God's sake, Lindsey - don't do anything stupid."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied, grinning.

* * *

Graham and I were standing outside of John Doe's room when Henry, Mary Margaret and Miss Swan - who I had learned was named Emma - came rushing inside.

As Henry neared the room, Graham shook his head, saying, "Henry, you should stay back."

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret asked worriedly. "Is it John Doe - is he okay?"

I nodded. "He's fine - he's just disappeared into thin air, is all." Graham gave me a look, and I sobered up immediately, avoiding eye contact with the Sheriff.

"He's missing," Graham explained, and the trio looked horrified as they stared past Graham and I, into the hospital room where John Doe's bed lay empty.

There was the click of heels as Regina Mills approached the group, looking agitated. "What the hell are you doing here?" she said coldly, and I inched back from her a bit; I'd learned that it was best to steer clear of her when she got into one of her rages.

"And you," she said, grabbing Henry's arm. "I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?" She looked a bit hurt, actually - which was surprising - and I felt a small twinge of sympathy for her as I tossed Graham a is-she-honestly-surprised look. Henry had stolen his teacher's credit card, taken a bus to Boston, and brought back his birth mother in a matter of days. Lying to Regina about his daily activities seemed pretty tame compared to the trouble the kid usually got up to.

"What happened to John Doe?" Mary Margaret asked, and I noticed Regina's eyes harden as she glared at the teacher. "Did someone take him?"

"Yes, sweetie," I said sarcastically. "Someone walked right out the hospital door, carrying a thirty-year-old man in a coma, and the only thing the night security did was hold the door open for him."

"We don't know yet," Graham said to the teacher, glaring at me. I shrugged in response as the sheriff continued to explain the situation to Mary Margaret.

"What did you do?" Henry asked Regina.

She frowned. "You think I had something to do with this?"

"It is curious that the mayor is here," Emma Swan said, her eyes narrowed at the other woman. I bit my lip, trying not to grin; not many people would challenge Regina Mills like that. I was beginning to like this chick.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact," the mayor explained, and the half-smile vanished from my face.

"Why the hell -" I began in confusion, before Graham stepped on my foot, silencing me.

"I found him," Regina continued. "On the side of the road, years ago, with no ID. I brought him here." I raised my eyebrows at this explanation.

"Mayor Mills saved his life," Dr. Whale said, coming to stand with our group.

I laughed softly. "Saint Regina Mills, rescuer of coma patients." The mayor shot me an icy glare, which did shut me up, but did not erase my disbelief.

"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked, and I couldn't help but notice the worry etched in her face. She seemed to care a lot about this John Doe.

I was still studying Mary Margaret's worried expression when I heard Whale say, "He needs to get back here soon, or 'okay' might be a pipe dream."

"Then let's stop yapping and get looking," Emma said.

"I'm with blondie," I said, nodding. "Let's go."

"That's what we're doing," Regina said, ignoring me and glaring haughtily at Emma. "Just stay out of this, dear. And since I can't seem to keep you away from my son," she added, pulling Henry closer to her side. "I'll just have to keep my son away from you."

"Enjoy my shirt," she said menacingly as she passed by Emma. "Because that's all you're getting." And with that, Mayor Mills strode out of the hospital, Henry in tow.

"Damn," I said, watching her go. "And I thought _Coronation Street _had family drama." Emma raised an eyebrow at me, and I grinned.

"Doctor, how long since you last saw him?"

"Twelve hours," Whale said to Graham, who nodded, turning to the rest of us.

"Let's get started, then," I said impatiently, clapping. "C'mon, people, we have a missing coma patient to find."

Five minutes later, we stood in the hospital's security room, questioning the night watchman and the janitor.

"You were the only two employees on the floor last night," Graham said. "And you saw nothing?" Both men shook their heads.

"Mary Margaret, did you see anything unusual on the trip with your class?"

"No, I don't think so," the teacher said, but before anyone could say anything else, Emma crossed the room to the computer screens.

"This is the wrong tape," she said, pointing to the monitor.

Leroy, the janitor, snorted. "You fell asleep again."

The night watchman glared at him. "You selling me out?"

"I ain't getting fired for this!"

"At least I don't drink on the job!"

"For God's sake, would you two shut up!" I snapped, studying the tape with Emma. Everyone turned surprised stares onto me, and I shrugged a bit self-consciously. "Well, it would be helpful."

"Just - roll the tape, please," Graham said in exasperation, and the watchman complied.

We all watched the computer screen as John Doe stumbled out of the ward, clutching his wrist as he pushed open the door. Mary Margaret sighed in clear relief.

"He walked out alone," she murmured. "He's okay."

"This was four hours ago," Emma said, gesturing to the tape. "Where does this door lead?" She looked at Graham, who looked solemn.

"It goes to the woods," Leroy said.

"Oh, hell," I muttered. "Right, let's get this over with." But as I walked out the door, Graham put a hand on my shoulder and glared at me.

"We're going," he said. "You're going home."

That is how, a half hour later, I wound up walking into the forest with none other than Henry Mills by my side.

The kid had found me on the edge of the woods, about to follow the group in when he appeared, carrying a backpack and industrial flashlight. I'll say one thing for sure: the kid was prepared.

"I think they went this way," Henry said, racing to the right. I followed him, waving the faint beam of my penlight along the surrounding trees. I wasn't certain what I was looking out for - bears, serial killers, murderous squirrels - but I knew from every horror movie I'd ever seen that I didn't want to find out what was lurking in the dark, ominous forest.

"I hope you're right, kid," I replied, just as we passed a thick copse of evergreens and saw Emma and Mary Margaret standing together, talking, as Graham moved deeper into the trees.

"Did you find him yet?" Henry asked, scurrying over to the pair.

"Henry - what are you doing here?!" Emma demanded, and the other woman spotted me as I hurried to walk behind him. "And Lindsey - why are you with him?"

"Someone had to watch the kid," I shot back defensively. "And since Madam Mayor appears incapable, I stepped in for the night."

"I know where he's going!" Henry exclaimed.

"What?" I said, taken aback. "Why didn't you tell me? Henry, I thought we were partners in crime?"

"Where's he going?" Emma asked, after giving me an annoyed glance.

"He's going to find you," Henry said to Mary Margaret. "You have to stop looking for him, and let him find you!"

"Henry, it's not about me," she said. "He's lost and confused, he's been in a coma a long time."

"But he loves you!" Henry argued, and I sighed; he'd been talking about this for the whole time.

"Kid, you need to go _home_," Emma replied. Where's your mom? She's going to kill me. Then you, and then me again."

"Probably me, too," I added, and Emma nodded in agreement.

While Henry and Emma continued to talk, I wandered after Graham, who had plowed further into the woods than the rest of us. I could hear the incessant rush of water, and figured we were somewhere near the river.

"Guys!" Graham yelled, and I heard footsteps behind me as we all sprinted down after the sheriff.

"Is that -?"

"Blood," I heard Emma say.

* * *

"His name is David Nolan," Regina announced to the room nearly an hour later. "And that's his wife, Kathryn."

"Crap," I muttered, watching Mary Margaret's face fall.

"And that look of joy on her face has put me in quite the forgiving mood," she added, and she and Emma shared a cold look.

"That would be a first, wouldn't it?" I muttered, and Regina shot me a glare.

"We'll talk about your insubordination later," the mayor said to Henry. "Do you know what insubordination means?"

The kid sitting next to me shook his head, and Regina matched his stare with her disappointed one. "It means your grounded."

"No it doesn't," I whispered to Henry. "She's definitely lying."

Kathryn Nolan stepped out of her 'husband's' room, smiling and saying, "Thank you."

"This would be a good time for me to leave," I said quietly, earning a hard glare from Regina on my way out. I smiled sweetly up at her, and tossed Henry a wink from behind her.

"Keep up the good work, kid," I said, walking out of the hospital - only to find Caroline standing there, waiting for me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I can completely explain," I said, my smile wavering. "I, um - well, John Doe -"

"I know what happened," Caroline said shortly. "But why did you have to wander through the woods alone at night? Seriously, Lindsey?"

I shrugged, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Sorry, Caroline. I didn't - I mean, it was kind of short notice, really."

"Graham told you to go home, did he?" My aunt's anger was quickly turning into exasperation as she spoke.

I nodded silently, walking to stand next to Caroline's ancient blue car. She opened the door, and we both climbed inside.

"You're okay?" she asked after a long moment of silence.

"Completely fine."

Then my aunt wrapped her arms around me, and I leaned my head on her shoulder, whispered that statement over again. Caroline started the car, and we drove home, humming to Adele on the radio, with my hand reassuringly across her shoulders.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone whose read this fic - you are all wonderful flowers, and I adore every one of you! :) Please review, and let me know what you think of the writing or characters or anything. **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	4. Deals Made and Deals Broken

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its characters. It's just Lindsey and Caroline. :) Hope you like this one!**

* * *

_Standing outside of a darkened manor house, I leaned against a stone wall and heaved a sigh as impatience swelled in me. _

_"Hello, dearie," a raspy voice whispered next to me. I turned my head, completely unfazed, and gave Rumplestiltskin my most bored look before replying._

_"Rumple. Is it just me, or have you gotten greener?" The man - monster - before me sneered._

_"I hear tell that you have information for me," he said, walking around to stand on my other side. He leaned in close, until I could feel his hot breath on my cheek, and whispered in my ear, "About a . . . potential _client._" He laughed maniacally at this statement, and I rolled my eyes._

_"First off: if you don't mind, I'd prefer you not breathe on me. One more whiff of that, and I'll be dead before I can tell you anything." Rumple's grin vanished, and was replaced with a leer. _

_"Do you have the information, or not, dearie?" he asked angrily. Sometimes it was too easy to wind him up._

_"Well, that depends, my repulsive lizard," I said, an edge creeping into my voice. "Do you have what I want?"_

_"Which would be . . . ?" Rumple let the question hang in the air around us, and it felt heavy on my ears. The answer, I knew, would feel even heavier, so I opted not to voice it._

_"You know exactly what I want, Rumple." I gently slid a silver dagger from its sheath on my hip, twirling it in my hands and watching it catch beams of moonlight. I carefully arced the blade around so fast it was a metallic blur in the night air; suddenly, it was pressed against the glistening skin of Rumplestiltskin's throat._

_"Now the question is," I continued, tracing the dagger's tip across his neck as I slowly enunciated every syllable. "Do - you - have it?"_

_Rumple didn't seem at all fazed by the knife at his throat; in fact, he appeared delighted by my actions. Considering the number of times I'd pulled a blade on him, though, his lack of surprise wasn't very shocking._

_"Yes," he said, smiling wickedly down at me. "Of course I have it, dearie. I am me, after all." He breathed a crazy laugh, and the corner of my mouth curled up in a smirk. _

_"Naturally," he continued. "I'll want payment immediately."_

_I nodded, watching cautiously as Rumple pulled a small crystal phial from an inner pocket of his jacket: it contained a shimmering concoction, that glowed an iridescent blue. He held it out in front of me, and I quickly snatched it from his grasp, staring down at the phial. "And this will work?"_

_"Absolutely, dearie," Rumple said, looking amused. _

_Carefully, I pocketed the phial, and caught Rumple's expectant expression. _

_"Information - right. There's a damsel in distress - young girl, blonde, blue eyes, beautiful." I suppressed a snort at my own description: they were always beautiful young girls, weren't they? "Orphaned, living in a dungeon, stuck with her bitchy relatives - a stepmother and stepsisters, I think. Wants to change her life and all that. You'll find her in that courtyard," I added, waving in the general direction of the manor house behind me._

_"Her fairy godmother's coming pretty soon - she was sent about a half hour ago. Her name's Ella, wants to marry a prince. Good luck."_

_As I moved to walk away, Rumple took hold of my arm. "Thank you, my dear," he said, his tone mocking. "I hope that potion is worth your trouble." His gaze darted to my coat pocket, where the phial rested. _

_I wrenched my arm from his strong grip, revolted. As I marched away, sheathing my dagger, I heard Rumple call out from the manor's gates._

_"Use it quickly, my dear Lady Scarlet! Your own damsel awaits, and is fading quite quickly!"_

* * *

"So, how was Saturday?" I asked as Ruby slid a mug of tea across the counter to me.

She raised her eyebrows. "First you want nothing to do with that double date, and now you want to know how it went?"

I shrugged. "Just asking. You still went, right?"

"Yeah. It was pretty good." Ruby leaned over to me, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "It was actually perfect." A huge grin stretched across her face, and I couldn't help but laugh at how incredibly happy she looked.

"And . . . are you happy I didn't come?" I asked tentatively, and Ruby paused for a moment, pursing her red lips.

"Oh, hell," she muttered. "Sure, why not?" We both laughed, and I took a sip of my tea before trying to change the subject; Ruby had talked about her dates for hours at a time before.

"Linds, it's a weekday," Ruby said. I nodded in agreement. "Don't you ever go to school?"

"Hmm . . . sometimes," I consented, stirring a spoonful of sugar into my cup of tea. "But it's lunch hour at the moment, so I'm okay." Ruby gestured to the clock on the wall, and I read the time: 1:34. "Well crap."

"What subject?" she asked, brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

"Uh - English? No, not . . . okay, it's geography." I shrugged again, giving my friend a 'what-can-you-do?' look.

"How are you still passing?" Ruby demanded.

"You forget, dear Ruby, that one of your best friends is a certifiable genius with a caffeine addiction," I said, taking another sip of tea. "I show up for the tests and exams, and occasionally the classes."

Ruby rolled her eyes at this response, and went to deliver a hot chocolate to Emma Swan, who was reading the newspaper at a window seat in the diner.

As my friend walked back to the counter, Regina entered Granny's and took a seat across from Emma, who looked surprised to see the other woman.

"Again? Really?" Ruby said quietly as we watched the two women argue. "When is Regina going to back off?"

"Don't know," I replied, watching Emma; she seemed a bit perturbed by the mayor's final statement as Regina stood up and strode out of the diner in her usual haughty fashion. I was beginning to think mayor Mills thought she was royalty.

"Graham asked me to convince her to join the Sheriff's department," I remarked as Emma stood up and spilled hot chocolate all over her front. Ruby raised her eyebrows at this comment, saying, "And will you?"

"If I get bored, maybe. I'm not Graham's maidservant." Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as Emma approached the two of us at the counter.

"You have a laundry room I could use?" she asked us, looking exasperated. I nodded, pointing her in the right direction.

"So . . . how's Ashley?" I asked. Ashley Boyd, a mutual friend of ours, was expecting - and expecting pretty soon. She'd explained to Ruby and I that the baby's grandfather had gotten her a deal with Mr. Gold, one of the most unpleasant and conniving people in Storybrooke. Gold would pay Ashley to give him the child, something I was incredibly appalled by.

"She's still stuck with that damned deal," Ruby muttered angrily. "Sean's dad is such a -"

"Douche? Asshole? Waste of valuable oxygen?" I offered, knowing how similar our feelings towards Mr. Herman were.

Ruby nodded in agreement. "Ashley's due pretty soon - I just hope . . . well, maybe she won't go through with it." I opened my mouth to say something, but Ruby cut me off. "I know, I know - it's Gold, and no one can break a deal with him. But maybe . . ."

I let her trail off, the thought hanging in the air. I knew what Ruby meant: I was hoping for the maybe myself, but I was aware of how often the universe disregarded 'maybes'.

* * *

_The night air was warm and balmy, and the fireworks overhead looked like fairy dust being sprinkled across the sky._

_I stood near the back of the party, watching all of the elegantly-dressed guests dance and talk. I myself was dressed up for the occasion: a simple satiny crimson gown, with a skirt that weighed about a hundred pounds and a corset that took away my ability to breathe. Needless to say, I was sorely missing my trousers._

_However, it was imperative that I remain at the party - the wedding reception for Ella and Prince Thomas' marriage. I was lurking along the walls, avoiding dances and trying not to trip over my skirts or my heels. Silently cursing Rumplestiltskin for sending me there, I remembered exactly why that man was sending me anywhere and instantly sobered up. _

_With an irritatingly complex enchantment, I was spying on the newlyweds: eavesdropping on their various conversations, which were all boring as hell._

_"My dear Ella," said a man's voice. It was Thomas' father, the king, as he danced with his new daughter-in-law across the ballroom. "We are thrilled to have you join our family." Ella nodded politely, smiling at her father-in-law._

_"And I hope our family will soon be growing," he added, and Ella smiled softly. _

_I felt a spike of discomfort: was that the king's not-very-subtle subtle way of suggesting she have his grandchildren faster? Because if so . . . well, my gag reflexes couldn't be well-controlled for much longer._

_"Congratulations, Ella," Prince James said, smiling at the blonde. "You two are going to be very happy together."_

_"Why thank you, James," Ella replied. I was waiting for Rumple to get a move on and get me out of there sooner as I listened to Snow White give the new princess some more well-wishing. _

_Suddenly, as if summoned by my thoughts, a raspy voice said mockingly, "I'm proud of you, too."_

_"You," Ella said solemnly as Rumplestiltskin moved to dance with her. "What are you doing here?" I wanted desperately to go over and shake some sense into the girl._

_"I just wanted to make sure you were happy with your end of the bargain," he said in that mockingly-caring tone. "You know - true love, riches, happy endings - did you get everything you desired?"_

_"Yes," Ella said quickly. "Yes I did, now what do you want? What's your price? My jewels? The ring?"_

_"No, no, dear, keep your baubles," Rumple whispered, and I rolled my eyes. He was going to drag this out, wasn't he?_

_"What I want is something you don't yet possess, but something I know is coming," he sang darkly into the princess' ear. "Your first-born." And with that he spun her away from himself and strode out of the ballroom, dragging me along with him._

_"Thank you, dearie, that will do," he said quietly, as he towed me along after him. I scrambled to keep up, now verbally cursing the shoes and dress._

_"Stop moving so damn fast!" I exclaimed furiously. He stopped in the castle grounds, sitting on the edge of a fountain, waiting. I kicked off the heels, tossing them into the shrubbery. Then I ripped off the ballgown, laying it on a bush. Pulling a small knife out of the skirts, I cut loose the corset and tossed that to the ground, as well. And, for good measure, I stomped on it._

_"Stupid, damned, torturous -" I muttered, digging the material into the soft earth with my bare feet. I brushed myself off, feeling much better._

_"You're standing in your underclothes," Rumple pointed out, gesturing at the linen chemise that was the only thing covering my body. I shrugged, not really caring - as if Rumplestiltskin viewed nakedness the same way as every other man. _

_"Who the bloody hell cares if you see me in my underclothes?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. The chemise ended only a little past my thighs, and I knew if any of the royals were to come down and see me, they would probably faint from the shock. But I didn't care about any stupid royals._

_"Right then," Rumple said, looking awkward. "Did you get it?"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Did I get it? Yes, you idiot, of course I got it. I'm not incompetent." I reached into the skirts of my gown again and pulled out the strange request Rumple had made: a hair I'd gotten off of the new princess' gown as she passed by me. _

_"Well done, dearie," he said quietly, taking the hair from me. "Now I will always find her; she will never be able to hide from me. Or hide the child from me."_

_I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly. "Our deal, Rumple?"_

_"Hmm? Oh, yes, that." He slipped a crystal phial out of his jacket pocket: identical to the last one he'd given me, only this one glowed violet instead of blue. _

_"And this - this one will work?" I asked, glaring at him. "Permanently?"_

_Rumple sighed dramatically. "Yes, my Lady Scarlet - this potion will permanently cure your dear -" he ceased talking as he spotted my icy gaze. "Yes, it will cure her. For good this time. I'm sorry about the last one, dearie, but I needed you for a bit longer."_

_I nodded, not even listening, as I clutched the phial in one hand tightly, as if someone might take it away at any moment. When I looked up, Rumplestiltskin was gone._

* * *

"So this boyfriend of hers, you don't think he was involved in her disappearance?" Emma asked skeptically.

I rolled my eyes at the mention of Sean, and Ruby snapped, "That would mean he's involved with her at all, which he isn't."

"He left her," I said flatly; Ashley had been devastated after Sean broke up with her, and I honestly didn't like to think about the fact that I hadn't slapped him upside the head yet.

"Right after they found out they were expecting," Ruby added, looking as angry as I felt.

Just then, Ruby's bright red car slammed down from the tow truck that had drove it in. She ran over to talk to the mechanic, Billy, who had driven it over to Granny's. She was eyeing him, though, and I knew that look: she wasn't really mad. In fact, she was checking him out.

"Discretion, Ruby," I muttered next to her, and she shrugged indifferently at me.

"Hey, Ruby," Emma said, trying to regain the brunette's attention. "What about her family?"

"Oh, she has a stepmom and two stepsisters she doesn't talk to," Ruby said, still glancing at Billy every few seconds.

"Complete b-" I began, then stopped when I looked at Henry. "-bad people. They are, um, really bad. Awful, in fact."

"Nice save, dork," Ruby remarked, grinning. I glared up at her.

"Wait," said Henry; for a moment I got down on my psychological knees and silently prayed for a reprieve from awkward questions. "Stepmom? Stepsisters? And she's a maid?" I glanced up at the sky, now thanking the entities that had deigned to rescue me.

"Look, I don't know what you heard," Ruby said, suddenly serious. "But it's wrong. Everyone thinks she's not ready to have this kid, but - well, she's trying. She's trying to get her life together."

I nodded in agreement. "She just needs a chance."

"Maybe you should just stay out of it," Ruby suggested. "She's been through enough already."

"I've been through it, too, Ruby, and I can help her," Emma said.

Ruby sighed. "Fine. Try her ex."

As she walked back inside the diner, I sidled up to Emma and Henry, smiling. "So . . . what're you two doing?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on - I know that look: Graham has it whenever he's working a case. I could be helpful," I added. "Please let me come?"

Emma gave me a quick once-over. "You're the kid whose always with Graham, trying to do police stuff? The one that follows him to crime scenes?" I nodded slowly, not certain where she was going with this.

Blowing a sigh out of her nose, Emma nodded once. "Alright, let's go. But be useful, and don't tell Graham about this. It's strictly off-the-record stuff, okay?"

"Thank you!" I said, following her and Henry off the diner's patio and into her yellow Bug. I climbed into the backseat, while Emma and her son sat in the front.

"This is where you can be useful," Emma said, turning to look at me. "Where does this kid live?"

Ten minutes later, the Bug was parked outside Sean Herman's house. I followed Emma out of the car, while she told Henry to stay behind.

Sean opened the door, and we shared an awkward glance: I was the friend of his ex-girlfriend, who was a few days away from giving birth to their child. I understood how weird that was. But I still glared coldly at him; he was still the Sean that had screwed one of my only friends, then left her to deal with the kid.

"Lindsey," he said, nodding in my direction. I continued to glare. He turned to Emma. "Who are you?"

"I'm Emma Swan," she replied. "I'm looking for Ashley Boyd - she's in trouble. Just thought maybe she came to see you?"

"My son doesn't have anything to do with that girl anymore," said a man's voice from behind us. I turned around to see Sean's father striding up the front steps and into the front doorway.

"So whatever trouble she's in, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do to help you." He concluded, standing in front of Emma and ignoring me entirely.

"You're the reason he broke up with her?" Emma asked. I raised my eyebrows; this was new information.

"Absolutely. I'm not going to let my son throw away his entire life over a mistake." Now I wanted to hit Mr. Herman more than Sean.

He and Emma continued to argue until the man retreated inside the house. Sean butted in, saying, "Maybe we should help them look."

His father walked up beside him and said stiffly, "Sean. Inside. Now." I rolled my eyes as Sean obeyed.

"Look," said Mr. Herman. "If I knew where she was, I would tell you. I went to a lot of trouble to get her that deal."

I rolled my eyes at the mention of his deal, but Emma asked in confusion, "What deal?"

Mr. Herman shot me a quick glare before turning back to Emma. "Ashley agreed to give up the child - and she's being paid very well to do so."

"You got her to sell the baby?" Emma asked softly, her eyes wide and horrified. I looked up at her: had she really not known? It was horrible - selling a child, after all - but why wasn't she aware?

"You make it sound so crass," Mr. Herman said.

I scowled. "Yeah - that's because it is," I snapped, unable to stop myself. He glowered at me.

"I found someone whose going to find that child a good and proper home," he added, as if to redeem himself in our eyes.

"And who are you to say whether or not Ashley is capable of providing that?" Emma demanded.

"Look at her," he said in exasperation. "She's a teenager. She's never shown any hint at being responsible." That was when I snapped a bit - I reared back and kicked Mr. Herman in the shin as hard as I could. He swore and moved away from me, clutching his ankle and glaring.

"Do _not _talk about my friend like that!" I said furiously. "Ashley may make mistakes, but she is a far better person than you'll ever understand!" The two of us stood there for a moment, glaring icily at each other before Emma stepped in.

"What if she's changing her life," Emma said quietly.

"Everybody says that," he replied, and I suppressed the urge to kick him again. "You should find her soon; she can't break this deal. No one breaks deals with him."

"Mr. Gold," I said quietly, revulsion building in my chest. Mr. Gold wanted Ashley's baby?

Mr. Herman nodded and looked at Emma. "Isn't that why you were hired? To bring him the baby?" Emma seemed shocked, and I blew out a sigh; she hadn't known.

Driving back to Granny's in the Bug, Emma confronted me. "How could you not tell me she sold the baby?!"

I shrugged from the backseat. "Didn't seem relevant . . . and I wasn't sure if you'd go through with the job if you knew the truth. I didn't know if you'd bring the kid to Gold. Ashley wants this kid, okay?"

"Whatever," Henry said. "You can't let her break her deal with Gold. No one ever breaks deals with him!"

"Happy to be the first," Emma said flatly. Then she glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. "And I'm not bringing the baby to Gold."

"Anyone who wants to be a mother should damn well be allowed to be one," she added, and I saw Henry smile at that.

* * *

Emma and Henry walked into Granny's, me trailing behind them. The blonde strode up to Ruby at the counter and said, "Alright, why didn't _you _tell me Ashley sold the baby?"

Ruby glanced at me, but I held my hands up defensively. "I didn't tell her." With a small sigh, my friend turned back to Emma. "Look, Ashley's my friend; I don't like the idea of people judging her."

As Ruby flounced away, Emma picked up a small glittering object on the counter: the red wolf charm that usually hung from the mirror in Ruby's car. I pinched the bridge of my nose: Ruby and Ashley may be some of my best friends, but they didn't always think . . . well, _rationally._

"Ruby, where's your car?" Emma demanded, and the brunette turned around a bit awkwardly.

"You didn't send me to Sean to find her, did you?" Emma continued. "You sent me there to give her a headstart." Ruby said nothing, just wiped the counter down.

"Ruby, I am only trying to help her," the blonde pleaded. "Ashley is in a lot of trouble. She cannot break that deal with Gold, not on her own, alright? Just help me find her."

There was a pause, then, "I can't talk in front of him. He's the mayor's kid."

"Hey!" Henry said defensively. "I'm on your side!" Ruby didn't budge. Emma leaned down to talk to Henry, and looked up at me. "Can you take Henry home?"

I knew I looked a bit crestfallen - mostly because I was - and Emma added, "You can come right back. I just need someone to make sure he gets home safe."

I nodded, and walked with Henry out of the diner while Emma and Ruby talked. Once outside, next to the yellow Bug, Henry stopped and looked up at me.

"Don't tell Emma," he whispered, and proceeded to crawl into the back, ducking underneath the seats.

"Kid!" I said, but before I could continue, Emma herself stepped out of the diner.

"Where's Henry?" she asked suspiciously. I opened my mouth to say something, but a sharp kick to my calf reminded me of his request.

"Home, went by himself," I said. Emma clearly didn't believe me, but it was the best lie I could fabricate on the spot.

"You can't come," she added, noticing the open door behind me. I closed the door and crossed my arms over my chest.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Because you need to do something for me," she said, lowering her voice. "Until I can find Ashley, get her somewhere safe . . . I need you to distract Gold."

* * *

Five minutes later, I stood outside Mr. Gold's pawnshop, staring at the bold 'open' sign and dreading complying with its request.

Finally, I forced myself to open the front door, walking tentatively inside the store. I still had no idea what Emma meant by 'distract', but she'd also said she's call me as soon as Ashley was safe. I silently prayed that Ashley would hurry up and be saved a bit faster.

"Um . . . Mr. Gold?" I asked, clearing my throat and standing in front of the cash register. the man himself was nowhere to be seen, although his trinkets still littered the shop. I was glancing around suspiciously, half-expecting him to appear out of thin air.

_Just be your normal, annoying self, _I thought, but jumped about five feet in the air when a voice behind me said, "What can I help you with, dearie?"

I whirled around, coming face-to-face with Gold, who smiled menacingly down at me. I shrugged, taking a quick step backward. "Not sure," I said, trying to figure out how to distract him. "Uh . . . I was just - I was looking for . . . um, a - uh - a present!" I said, glad to finally spit out the damn sentence.

"Yes, a present for my aunt Caroline," I continued, the lies flowing far easier. "It's her birthday soon." Lie - her birthday was four months ago. I just really hoped Gold didn't know that. "And I really wanted to find her something special."

Gold raised his eyebrows but didn't press me further, walking around to stand behind the register. I glanced around the room, wondering if I could just knock him out with something; there were quite the number of blunt objects available.

"Is that so Miss Welles?" he said quietly. I didn't ask how he knew my name; he knew everyone's name, especially when they happen to have an arrest record.

"And what kind of special present do you think would suit your dear aunt?" he continued, looking around the room with me. I froze, noticing the edge inching into his voice; he knew I was lying.

"Okay, so I'm not exactly looking for a present," I said, figuring it would involve less maiming if I confessed upfront. "I'm . . . I'm here for Graham, who heard there was a break-in recently!"

Gold looked a bit taken aback, and I suppressed a grin. Follow-up for the Sheriff: not bad cover, Welles. Now let's see if you can keep it up.

"I just have a few routine questions," I added, pulling out my notebook and pen. "You don't mind to comply with the police department, do you, Mr. Gold?" I gave him a look that was all innocence, and he nodded stiffly after a moment.

"So, um . . . can you tell me what your attacker looked like?" I asked.

"Well, she was young - a teenager. Blonde, I think . . ." I scribbled in my notebook, sketching a quick ladybug. "Say, Miss Welles, aren't you a friend of Ashley Boyd?" I froze, ceasing my scribbling to glance up at him; Gold merely looked curious.

"Um . . . yeah, we're friends," I said nonchalantly. "Was this attack how you got the scar?" I continued, gesturing to my hairline. He nodded absently, and I wrote something else down: 'Gold needs to work on his people skills'.

"Any other significant details you can remember? Did the attacker take something?" I pressed, and at this Gold looked me dead in the eye with an icy glare that could have felled a lion from fifty feet.

"You're aware of Miss Boyd's theft," he said; it wasn't a question. "Why are you here?" I blocked his path to the door as he began to walk around the register.

"Um . . . I told you," I said, trying to play off the lie. "I'm here for the Sheriff."

"No, you're not," he began, but I cut him off quickly. "I have some more questions, actually. I'm just an incredibly curious person, Mr. Gold. Why do you walk with a limp? That's always been something I've wondered." I was rambling now, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. "How is it that you acquired so much property? You own, like, half the town or something crazy. Where is the rest of your family? Don't you at least have aunts and cousins or anything? Do you have any kids?" Now I was walking backwards, blocking his path to the door.

"This is about Miss Boyd, isn't it?" he asked, but I was still babbling.

"Why don't you ever cut your hair? I mean, Miss Blanchard his shorter hair than you. You'd look good in a pixie cut, you know." I took a small pause to breathe. "Never mind, don't get a pixie cut. Please." I was standing with my back pressed against the door now, Gold glaring down at me.

"Do you really need that cane? Or is it just to beat people who annoy you?" I'd always secretly suspected that; however, our current position did not make that theory sound very welcome.

"Never mind, don't answer that. You know what? I actually really have to go." And with that, I slipped out the shop's front door, slamming it shut and holding it closed as Gold pounded on the other side.

* * *

"No, you can't - go -in - there!" I managed to huff out as I tried to push Mr. Gold back down the hospital hallway and out the door. He kept moving forward, and I sighed angrily, running to block the doorway into the maternity ward.

"Stop!" I commanded, although I didn't sound nearly as intimidating as necessary because of how out of breath I was from trying to stop Mr. Gold all the way across Storybrooke.

He jabbed my foot with his cane and pushed me aside, opening the door and walking in.

". . . And the mother is doing fine," a nurse finished telling Emma, who smiled.

"What lovely news," Mr. Gold said, and the smile vanished from Emma's face. I ran over and tried to push him back out of the ward, but he pushed me to the side again.

"Good work, Miss Swan," he continued, and I scowled. "Thank you for returning my merchandise."

He calmly crossed the waiting room and began to make himself a cup of coffee at the machine. Emma walked over to him furiously and stood next to the man, demanding his attention. "A baby? That's your merchandise?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, and then looked at me. "And Lindsey! You were supposed to keep him distracted!"

"I tried!" I said throwing my hands in the air. "I actually had to try and barricade him in his own damn shop! Nothing worked!"

"Miss Welles fought valiantly," Gold said. "And as for telling you, Miss Swan: at the time, you didn't need to know."

"Really? Or you thought I wouldn't take the job?" Emma asked him in disbelief.

"On the contrary, I thought it would be more effective if you found out yourself. After you saw the situation, I thought it would make sense to you."

"You are not getting that kid," Emma said flatly. She glanced over at me. "Lindsey, do you mind to stand guard outside Ashley's room for a bit?" I nodded, and left them to it. If Emma wanted to deal with Gold she was welcome to try.

I hurried over to the nearest nurse, who took me to Ashley's room. She glanced up and waved me over happily; we hugged quickly.

"The next time you and Ruby devise an escape plan, let me know," I said, grinning. "For the moment, I'm here to guard you if Gold comes." At this Ashley paled, but I shook my head. "Emma's dealing with him. He won't come near her, I swear."

"Thank you, Linds," she whispered as I went to stand in front of the door. I nodded at her, still smiling.

Soon enough, Emma came in to assure Ashley that the child was in fact hers. Then Sean appeared, and I raised an eyebrow at him as he entered the room.

"Don't be an idiot," I muttered as I passed him, waving good-bye to Ashley; they probably needed to be alone.

And I really needed to tell Ruby what had happened. As I walked out of the hospital I saw Emma and Henry running over to the Bug. The kid waved at me, and Emma smiled. I waved back, running off to Granny's.

After all that excitement, I seriously needed a hot chocolate and a best friend to calm me down.

* * *

_It was a beautiful night: the stars shone brightly overhead, and I was sprinting up the path to a small farmhouse with the warm summer breeze swirling around me, billowing out my cloak._

_I reached the farmhouse in a matter of moments, wrenching open the front door and hurrying up the stairs towards the bedroom. I could hear the coughing fit from outside the dwelling, it was so loud, but I tried to ignore that as I slipped inside the room, still holding the phial._

_I threw off my cloak, dropping it on the foot of the bed and walking over to the woman laying in the blankets, coughing: she was small, middle-aged and dark-haired, with a button nose and freckles. _

_She smiled softly as she noticed me, and I uncorked the phial, handing it to her. "This was will work - permanently," I whispered reassuringly. The woman nodded weakly, lifting the phial to her lips and swallowing its luminescent contents._

_There was a long, still moment - the woman's eyes flashed a bright violet - and then she sighed in contentment. The pain in her eyes faded, and her eyelids fluttered closed. Her breathing calmed, and suddenly she was asleep, looking perfectly fine._

_"'Night, Izzy," I whispered to her, standing up and wrapping my cloak around myself again. She needed to sleep._

_I left my aunt's farmhouse with an overwhelming sense of relief. She was healed; she was safe. My mother hadn't been savable - but I could heal her sister, Isadora. I had saved her. _

* * *

**Author's Note: So this is kind of a long chapter - nearly 6,000 words - as a thank you for everyone who has read this fic so far. You are all amazing, and it honestly means so much to me, so yeah - thanks. :) And thanks to DreamYourOwnDestiny for being the first person to review. :)**

**You finally got to see Lindsey as Maeve Scarlet - her Enchanted Forest self. I hope it wasn't too confusing at the end flashback, but Isadora and Caroline are the same person. She is Lindsey/Maeve's aunt. :)**

**So . . . yeah. Hoped you all liked it! Please review: let me know what you think of Lindsey/Maeve, or any predictions you have for her character in this AU (because this story will definitely be a bit AU.) **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	5. That Still Small Voice

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, it's characters, or any similar dialogue. Just Lindsey and Caroline. :) Enjoy! **

* * *

"Truth or dare?"

"This is stupid," I muttered. Ruby and I were in my bedroom, Ruby sitting cross-legged on the foot of my bed, me on the floor with a half-empty bowl of popcorn between us. Alaska, my cat, was purring next to my feet.

"Truth or dare, Lindsey Welles?" Ruby repeated insistently. I sighed, leaning back on my hands.

"Truth," I conceded, and Ruby looked a bit disappointed. "Ruby, this game is for, like, children. I can't believe how clichéd this is."

Ruby rolled her eyes, then said, "Alright, truth . . . Do you follow Graham around because you like the police work, or because you're head-over-heels in love with him?"

I blanched at this question, and gagged melodramatically at my friend. "Graham? You're kidding me, right? No, I am NOT in love with him!'

It was then that the entire room began shaking, throwing popcorn to the floor, and Ruby and I shared a worried glance before she sprang to my bedroom window and peered outside. "People are all running down the street - looks like it came from there." She pointed down past main street.

I leapt up, grabbed Ruby's hand and made a beeline for the front door as Caroline walked out of the basement, looking alarmed. "Where're you going?"

"Um . . . just a quick errand," I said, pulling on shoes and grabbing the car keys while grasping at thin air for an explanation. When none were available, I shrugged and said, "Gotta run, love you, bye!" I threw open the door and ran outside, Ruby following suit.

We slid into Caroline's beat-up car and I turned my spare key in the ignition. Ruby sped down the street, towards the source of the quaking.

When we reached the small expanse of hole-infested dirt, Ruby parked the car and we climbed out, searching the crowd for anyone who could tell us something. I spotted the police car pulling up, and Ruby and I rushed over as Graham and Emma got out.

"Hey," Emma said in way of greeting, and I waved at her and Graham, trying to ignore the fact that less than ten minutes beforehand Ruby had questioned whether or not I was in love with him.

"What the hell was that?" Ruby demanded, and both Emma and the Sheriff shrugged.

"No idea, but -"

"Clear the area, everyone stay calm!" Regina Mills was striding up through the crowd towards us, her black coat swirling around her legs.

"Marco, why don't you help with the perimeter. You two," she said, looking distastefully at Ruby and I, "Get out of the way. Miss Swan, this now official town business, you're free to go."

"Actually," Emma replied. "I work for the town now."

"She's my new deputy," Graham explained. I raised my eyebrows; so he'd convinced her at last. At least I didn't have to get involved - Graham's love life, which Emma was probably a part of, was not something I was keen on interfering with.

"They say the mayor is always the last to know," Regina said, and Graham gave her a look. "It's in my budget."

There was a moment of tense silence between the two before Regina turned to Emma and said, "Fine. Deputy, go help with crowd control and cord off the area." The blonde nodded, and the mayor glanced over at Ruby and I. "Didn't I already tell you to get out of the way?"

Ruby grabbed my hand and pulled me back to Caroline's car, where I quickly cursed Regina for being so - so -

"Superior?" Ruby suggested. "Come on, Linds, Caroline'll be waiting, and honestly there's nothing for even you to do here."

I opened my mouth to argue, but decided against it; Ruby was right. There wasn't anything to do - it was just a bunch of collapsed mines.

"Besides, we have a game of 'Truth or Dare' to finish," Ruby added, sliding into the driver's seat. "And I still have a list of questions that I'm dying for answers to." I groaned in frustration, slamming the passenger door closed.

* * *

_". . . they'll be in safe hands, and you'll be free." The rasping voice that I was far too familiar with hissed through the tower's shadow-strewn air. I sighed; Rumplestiltskin was always pulling out the dramatics for his new customers. _

_I watched as the bespectacled man took the phial and walked cautiously out of the room, hurrying down the spiral staircase below. I waited until his footsteps were no longer heard to step out of the shadowed corner._

_"Evening, Rumple," I said, a smirk dancing on my lips as I lazily crossed the room to where the Dark One sat, having resumed his spinning._

_"Hello, dearie," he replied, grinning maniacally. _

_"Don't call me that," I snapped; I'd never liked his patronizing terms of endearment, and my hatred for this one showed quite obviously._

_He raised his eyebrows at my sudden snap, and I let out a long breath before saying, "Sorry - not in a good mood."_

_"Are you ever?" he asked skeptically, and I shrugged, unsure if the answer to that question was bad or not: it was true that I was rarely in a particularly good mood. _

_"Irrelevant," I said, disregarding his attention to detail. "I have it."_

_Rumple stopped spinning and looked up at me, a greedy light entering his gaze as I reached into the folds of my cloak and extracted a folded piece of parchment that had probably seen better days: it was ripped around the edges, and dirt was smudged across its surface. I unfolded it to show Rumple the list of names. _

_He reached for it, but I held it just out of his grasp. He growled something unintelligible, and I took a step back as he went to grab the parchment again. _

_"What's your price?" he spat, looking furious. I fingered the parchment, thinking._

_"Hmm . . . let's see: a list of traitors among King George's court, complete with their conspiracies. It took a while to compile this." I paced slowly and thoughtfully around to stand behind Rumple._

_"You don't happen to have . . . I don't know, a fairy's wand, do you?" I asked quietly. "A very specific fairy's wand?"_

_He let out a dry laugh. "Delphine's, you mean?" His mouth stretched into that gruesome parody of a smile, and he laughed again. "It won't bring her back, dearie. That ship sailed long ago." Then he stood, walking over to me. _

_"Why do you want it, I wonder?" he said, menace twisting his voice. "There wouldn't be any disgraced fairies that want their powers back, would there?"_

_I shook my head angrily. "No. But I need the wand, Rumple. Hand it over, or -" I held the parchment over the blazing fireplace, "-I burn the list."_

_"You've memorised every name on that parchment," Rumple scoffed._

_I shrugged. "Yes, maybe I have. But you know you won't get at them - not in my head. So give me the wand, and you can have your precious traitors."_

_There was a tense moment of silence between us, each waiting for the other to back down. When I inched the list closer to the fire, however, Rumple caved; he reached over to his desk and tossed something through the air that I caught: a wand made of glittering onyx. "There's your trinket, dearie; now give me the list."_

_I placed the parchment in his reptilian hand and strode down the staircase, determined to get the hell out of that castle._

* * *

"They're going to blow through the ground," Ruby said, dragging me back behind Storybrooke's one and only firetruck.

"Wait, what?" I asked, and I could feel the blood drain from my face. "No, they can't -"

But they did.

As the explosives went off, I could feel every bone in my body shaking. Smoke and dust billowed out around the mines, and I coughed a bit as it drifted close to the small crowd that had formed.

Henry and Archie Hopper were trapped inside the mines, and the brilliant plan was to blow through the ground. I wanted to smack someone - preferably the person who decided that that was the best solution.

"Did it work?" Regina asked as Deputy Swan came running out of the dust.

"It didn't work," she said, clearly distraught. But Graham was asking the right questions as he asked grimly, "Then what did it do?"

"It couldn't work," I said in exasperation as I walked over to the Sheriff. "Those mines are probably about as stable as a Jenga tower, and you just blew them up. You affected the _inside, _people!" I looked at them all incredulously. Regina was glaring; Emma and Graham looked alarmed, to put it mildly.

Inside the firetruck, Pongo - Archie's Dalmatian - was barking insistently at the half-open window. Emma glanced at the dog as well, and before I could say anything she was opening the door and pulling Pongo outside.

"It's Archie's dog," Emma explained to the confused looks she received from Regina and Graham. "I think he can smell Archie!"

Pongo stopped at a dirt-covered grate in the ground, which Emma and Graham pulled out to reveal a dark shaft. "Mine shaft," Emma said quietly.

I watched as Emma and Regina shared a brief but heated argument, before the mayor consented to the deputy being lowered into the shaft to rescue Henry and Archie. Graham helped her into a harness, and Emma was slowly lowered into the shaft.

Soon, there was a huge rattling from within. Ruby clutched my hand tightly as the ground shook, rocks falling into the shaft. I bit my lip worriedly, genuine fear building inside my chest as it hit me: they could die in there. Kind, patient Archie, adorkable Henry and Emma, who I was beginning to like - they could all die. I held Ruby's hand tighter at the thought.

The shaking soon passed and there was a huge crash that echoed up from the mine shaft; I couldn't tell if it was my hand or Ruby's that was shaking that badly.

Then, Emma was being pulled out of the shaft, holding Henry tightly and Archie dangling from the harness by his umbrella. I choked on a hysterical laugh at the sight, and it came out as a sort of strangled hiccup.

Ruby let go of my hand and we rushed over with everyone else to pull them out of the shaft; Emma slipped out of the harness and went to see Henry, who seemed perfectly alright.

Archie and Marco were grinning at each other, and hugged. Ruby and I went to see the shrink, who smiled at both of us. We hugged him quickly, relief making us all a tad hysterical. I glanced over to where Emma was shoved aside by Regina, who went to see Henry, and I felt a flicker of pain for the blonde. She had saved him, after all.

"I should go," I said to Ruby, who was eyeing Billy from across the police tape.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking disappointed. "I thought we were all going to stay, celebrate the fact that no one died or anything."

I shook my head, turning to walk back home. "It'll be late soon, and Caroline might get worried. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Ruby nodded, and I clutched my jacket tighter around me as I went home.

* * *

_"Don't make this harder on yourself." The man's voice is full of controlled anger. "Just tell me, and you'll be free to go."_

_I shake my head numbly, unable to focus on his face. I feel my head jerked backwards and am plunged into something incredibly cold - water. I inhale, and my throat burns._

_Suddenly, I'm running down a long corridor, a gown billowing about my legs. "Down there!" Someone shouts from behind me, and I hear a clamour of footsteps; torchlight gleams on the polished marble floor._

_"Don't touch me!" I scream, wrenching my arm free from the woman's grasp. "You did that - you killed her. Not me, _you._" _

_Then I am standing on a grassy cliff, overlooking a grey ocean that churns with the storm above it. An arrow whizzes past my face and I duck. A hand shoves me to the ground, and I stumble to the edge of the sheer drop. A foot catches me in the back, and I am falling straight towards the tumbling waves of the water: fifty feet, thirty, ten -_

"Lindsey! Lindsey, it's me, it's okay. Wake up!" Caroline shook me, and I slowly blinked my eyes open, everything a bit blurred from sleep.

"Caroline?" I whispered thickly. "God, what time is it?"

"One thirty," she said quietly. "Linds - it was just another nightmare." I carefully sat up in bed, stretching my arms above my head. I sat on the edge of the mattress, dangling my feet over the side.

Caroline wraps an arm around my shoulders and looks at me worriedly. "They're getting worse, aren't they?" I glance over at the notebook laying on my dresser; I could get her out of the room, write down the dream . . .

No. I have to tell her. This is Caroline, after all - if anyone deserves to know, it's her. For a moment, I consider lying to her: telling her that they aren't that bad, that maybe they're fading a bit now. I could tell her something that would make her sleep a little easier afterwards. But I can't do that - she would never lie to me. Not like that. So I tell her the only thing I can tell her.

"Yeah, maybe." Neutral; doesn't give too much away. "I just . . . I don't know. They feel much more like - well, like _memories_ than dreams - or, uh, like nightmares, I mean."

We sat in total silence for a few minutes after that lame and bizarre response. Then Caroline whispered, "I'll see you in the morning," and I nodded quietly and she stood up and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

I stared at the notebook for a moment before walking over and opening it to a fresh page. The dream still vivid in my mind, I scribbled the burning of the water in my lungs, the fear pumping through my veins as I raced down the hallway. I sketched the one thing that stood out to me: the sight as I plummeted from the cliff, into the ocean below.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so I am going to be posting as much as possible for the next week, because school starts on Monday for me, so before everything gets insane again, I want to get as much of this story up as possible.**

**So, I know this one is short, but there wasn't a ton I was going to do with this episode. I considered combining it with another, but the next one - 'The Heart is A Lonely Hunter' - is going to be really significant to Lindsey's storyline, so I didn't want to cram all of it in one, you know? We got to see another flashback (love writing those with her), and a bit more of her relationships with other characters - Ruby, Caroline, Graham, etc. Sorry for the crappiness, but I promise the next one will be much better. :)**

**Thanks to Runner91, SansaFort and Sive the Skittle Ninja for following, and Anaica and DreamYourOwnDestiny for also favourite-ing. :) Also, thank you to everyone who has read this fic as well - you guys all make me want to update it more often. ;) **

**So . . . yeah. Favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to keep reading, and review if you want to predict anything or let me know what you think of the story so far. Hope you liked this! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	6. The Curious Case of Mr and Mrs Nolan

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its characters. Just Lindsey. Hope you like this one! :) **

* * *

Taking another sip of coffee, I glanced around the Nolan's living room, trying to act inconspicuous.

The curiousness of Kathryn and David's situation had sparked my interest - the fact that it took her so many years to find that the only John Doe in the town's only hospital was actually her presumed-missing husband seemed like one hell of a coincidence, especially because her arrival had been timed perfectly to fit Regina's needs. The mayor hadn't liked how close David and Mary Margaret were getting, when suddenly a long-lost wife drops out of the sky.

I wasn't fond of coincidences involving Regina Mills, and this entire thing was suspicious.

Caroline and I had been invited the David's welcome-home party - mostly because I had been part of the group who found him stranded in the woods - and I had seized the opportunity as the perfect time to investigate the Mr and Mrs Nolan situation.

Fortunately, Caroline was busy across the room, talking avidly to an elderly couple about their antiques shop; my aunt could start a friendly conversation with Attila the Hun if necessary. I was wandering about the living room, studying its contents: trying to determine if the framed pictures had been Photoshopped, if the hair of hundreds of cats clung to the sofa cushions. Really searching for anything that screamed 'psychotic-obsessive-woman-who-is-willing-to-lie-about-an-amnesiac's-identity-in-order-to-falsify-their-marriage'. So far, nothing had sprung up.

As discreetly as possible, I set my Styrofoam cup down on the edge of the nearest table and slipped out of the living room, entering the kitchen. It was fairly normal-looking: examining the shelves and spice rack out of the corner of my eye, nothing particularly odd stood out. Kathryn and Regina were talking up near the counter, and I turned my back to them, pretending to take an interest in a photograph on the wall of David and Kathryn standing on the pier in town, his arm around her waist, both of them grinning at the camera. The photo looked legitimate enough.

I walked over to Kathryn and Regina, and asked the blonde, "Could I use your washroom?" She smiled and pointed me in the right direction, and I thanked her and headed up the stairs. My chances now taken, I turned right where Mrs. Nolan said left and walked silently down a small hallway. At the end of it, I opened the door, wincing when it creaked a bit.

Tip-toeing inside, I wandered about the bedroom. It was simple: bed (perfectly made, with a cute quilt draped over the foot of it), dresser (organised, clean), and a few shelves (mostly more picture frames and books). I picked a photo off of the dresser, peering down at a smiling Kathryn and David. It was as if she wanted their undying love displayed all over the house, and I wrinkled my nose at the thought. Sickly sweet, but not stalker-ish exactly.

I set the picture back down and took a quick look in the top dresser drawer: just shirts, half of them women's and half men's. I raised an eyebrow: a guy definitely had lived there before. The question was whether or not it had been David, because I still doubted her story. A lot.

Finding nothing of actual suspicion or even interest in the bedroom, I slipped back into the hallway and closed the door quietly behind me.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I spun around, trying to act calm and not at all suspicious when I saw Regina Mills standing in the hallway before me, murder in her eyes - or at least a good beating.

"Oh, I was looking for the bathroom, but I think I took a wrong turn," I lied smoothly, shrugging. "I thought she said turn right, so I went right."

"And continued to walk into their bedroom?" Regina said, narrowing her eyes.

"It's dark," I said, trying to sound defensive instead of terrified. "I couldn't see anything 'til I turned on the light, okay?"

There was a moment of silence, in which Regina glared and I tried not to look guilty of anything. I rolled my eyes after a minute or two, my exasperation and natural sarcastic instincts kicking in and removing my fear. "My God, what're you gonna do? Ask Graham to come arrest me for taking a wrong turn?"

Regina looked a bit shocked at my being snippy with her - honestly, I wasn't sure what she expected, me being _me _after all - and, as she seemed mildly distracted, I walked past her saying, "I think I'll be going now."

"Yes, I think you will be," she said, recovering from her surprise.

I strode down the stairs, thanked Kathryn again for letting me use her washroom (while Regina silently glared at me) and grabbed Caroline's hand, half-pulling her out of the living room. She waved goodbye to the older couple as we left the Nolans' house.

"Linds? You okay?" she asked as I slid into the passenger seat of her car. I nodded, flipping through the radio stations as soon as she turned the key in the ignition. Determining that the only local station played crappy music, I switched the radio off as Caroline drove us home.

"What happened?" she ventured, and I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing much, really," I said, not wanting to explain the whole 'I-was-snooping-around-Kathryn-Nolan's-house-because-I-think-she's-a-crazy-fraud-but-I-didn't-get-any-proof-which-sucks' situation. Instead I settled on, "The party was pretty uneventful, actually. Did you have fun?" There, that was neutral. Caroline couldn't find anything suspicious about that statement.

She nodded, smiling. "I was mostly talking to the Caulfields - they run the antiques shop on Georgiana, do you know them? - and they were telling me about this amazing piece they just bought from a collector in New Hampshire . . ." Caroline went on talking about the Caulfields' 'amazing new piece' for the rest of the drive home. I let her talk; she seemed happy enough to describe the thing in great detail, despite the fact that I was barely listening to a word she was saying.

As we pulled up to the small brownstone we called home and walked inside, Caroline pressed something into my hand: a glass stone with a flower bud embedded in its center.

"It's supposed to be a charm to help you sleep," she said, looking hopeful. Caroline had always been as invested in hippy-voodoo cures as she was in actual scientific methods. "I figured it might help with the nightmares."

I made a face, thinking she wouldn't see it in the dark hallway, but she caught it anyway. "Lindsey, please just try it. You never know," she said in a teasing sing-song voice as she walked downstairs to her bedroom. "It might just work." Then she disappeared into the basement, leaving me standing in a dark hall, holding the charm.

As I slipped out of my clothes and into an old t-shirt, I stared down at the stone for a moment before slipping it underneath my pillow. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't - my money was on the latter - but Caroline was honestly just trying to help, and I needed to trust her.

At two the next morning, when I woke up covered in cold sweat, breathless and tangled in sheets, I was proven dead right on the legitimacy of that charm.

* * *

_"I have a favour to ask of you."_

_I didn't turn around, not needing to see the visitor's face to know their name. Instead, I rolled my eyes and notched another arrow, aiming for my makeshift target and firing. The arrow embedded itself in the dead center, and I suppressed a proud smile._

_"And if I don't want to do you any favours today?" I asked, pulling another arrow out of my quiver. Suddenly, the weapons were jerked out of my hands and thrown across the clearing._

_I spun around on my heel, glaring daggers at Rumplestiltskin, who grinned devilishly. "Oh, I think you will do this for me, dearie."_

_He pranced over to me, looking smug. "I have something that you want." He leaned in close to me, his face inches from mine. "Desperately." I scoffed, shoving him away and moving towards my bow and arrows; Rumple flicked his wrist and they skittered away from me again. Scowling, I turned to face him._

_"What is it?" I asked, not wanting to let my curiosity show; it'd been months since Rumple had asked me to do a job, and I'd almost missed teasing the imp._

_"I need you to accompany me on a, ah, business transaction," he said, his mouth twisting into a mocking smile. "You will do what I say when we arrive, and it may take . . . well, quite some time. Not that you're busy," he added, glancing at my weapons._

_I pressed my lips together thoughtfully, thinking it over. "And what exactly is it that I need so desperately, Rumple?" _

_He tilted his head, studying my reaction. "Why don't we cross that bridge when we get to it. Now . . . do we have an accord?" He held his arm out, as if for me to take._

_I picked up my weapons, walking over to him. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I don't do pleasantries."_

_Rumple's smirk stretched into a manic grin. "Not to worry - just don't say that to the King." And with that he snapped his fingers and we were spinning uncontrollably, the ground disappearing beneath our feet and the world around us going black._

_"I hate teleporting," I muttered. _

* * *

"So you just snuck around their house, looking for evidence to convict Kathryn Nolan of being a psychotic stalker?" Ruby looked at me in disbelief. "Linds, that's a bit crazy, even by your standards."

I shrugged, picking off another piece from my muffin. "It isn't that far-fetched; people do crazy stuff sometimes. You should know this, Ruby - you're friends with me. Crazy shouldn't seem so, well, _crazy _to you."

"Yeah, but why would Kathryn Nolan lie about David's identity to fake a marriage between them? And if she's lying, how would all their neighbors remember him?" Ruby countered, plucking a blueberry out of my muffin. I shot her a glare, sliding my food just out of her reach.

"I know, my theory isn't very solid yet -"

"Meaning there is no theory," she said.

"But I just can't shake the feeling that something is seriously off about this whole thing," I concluded, opting to ignore her comment. Sure, my theory really was non-existent - stalker part aside - but I was not about to tell Ruby that.

"I'm pretty sure that just makes you paranoid," Ruby said with a half-smile.

Just then, Regina Mills walked into the diner, striding over to sit across from Mary Margaret and saying something with a small smile that did not conceal the fury in her dark eyes. I raised my eyebrows at Ruby, who shrugged. "I guess she's given up on cornering Emma now."

I glanced over at the two women; Regina was leaning a bit over the table that separated them, and looked menacingly at Mary Margaret as she spoke, keeping her voice too low for me to hear.

"I should get going," I said, sliding the destroyed remains of my muffin across the counter towards Ruby, who grinned and took a small bite before asking, "Where to?"

"The station," I replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I feel morally obligated to welcome Emma on her first day as Storybrooke's deputy." I walked out of Granny's just behind Regina, who had stormed away from Mary Margaret's table in her usual fashion. She paid me no attention as I hurried towards the police station.

When I entered the station I spotted Emma already sitting down, scanning an open file folder. I felt a prickle of envy: I'd been trying to get at Graham's files for years, to no avail.

"Hi," she said, glancing over at me as I leaned against the wall. I gave her a half-smile. "Hi."

"So, you really just tag along with Graham all the time?" she asked curiously, and I nodded.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'tag along' exactly . . ." I began as the Sheriff walked into the room, carrying a box.

"No, you wouldn't," he agreed, rolling his eyes at me. "But that's exactly what happens." He held the box open for Emma and said, "Sometimes the clichés are true." I peered over Emma's head and spotted the pastries in the box.

I grinned. "And sometimes, it's wonderful when clichés are true."

"Alright," Emma said suspiciously, giving Graham a look. "What d'you want?"

He gave her an apologetic look. "You know when I said no night shifts?" Emma looked as if she already knew where this was going, and I did, too. "I need you to work tonight. Just this once."

"Why?" she said, sounding immensely disappointed. I, on the other hand, was frustrated.

"Why don't I just do it?" I asked indignantly. Immediately, a look of horror passed over Graham's face and he shook his head adamantly. "No. No, no, no, no." Emma looked between the two of us in confusion, and I heaved a sigh through my nose.

"Do you remember what happened the last time I let you watch the station?!" he demanded.

I rolled my eyes dismissively. "The fire was proved unintentional!"

He shook his head again. "No, Lindsey. You are not staying here by yourself. Besides, Emma can do the night shift anyway, can't you?" He looked at the blonde pleadingly, and I sighed again as she said, "You're really lucky you bought a bear claw," while she removed the pastry from the box.

I walked over to Graham, still exasperated, and picked a pastry out myself. "You're so stubborn sometimes."

"And you're so pyromaniacal sometimes!" Graham retorted, putting down the box of doughnuts.

"Oh, welcome to the team, by the way," I added, smiling at Emma, who looked utterly lost and potentially disturbed by our argument.

Graham looked at me in bewilderment. "What team? Lindsey, your internship ended two months ago."

I glanced up at him, taking a bite of my chocolate doughnut. "And your point is . . . ?"

He looked as if he wanted to say something to that but Mary Margaret walked inside, looking a bit dazed, which effectively stopped him.

"Can I talk to Emma for a minute?" she asked, and Graham nodded, walking into his office. I raised my eyebrows at the teacher, silently asking if I should leave to. She waved her hand indifferently, and I took a seat on the other side of Emma's desk.

"He left his wife," Mary Margaret said hurriedly. "He left her, he left Kathryn!" My eyes widened in shock and I tilted my head to one side, thinking. He left her? An interesting development in the peculiar circumstances of David and Kathryn Nolan (or, as I had begun calling it in my head, 'The Nolan Trap'. Ruby had already informed me of what a stupid name that was, but unfortunately it had stuck).

"Wait, what?" Emma said, looking both confused and astonished.

"He did it for me, he left Kathryn so that we could be together!" Mary Margaret continued, and I suppressed a smile; seeing the woman so happy, it was almost contagious. "He wants me to meet him tonight, and I just - I mean, I'm trying to be strong, but he just keeps coming. I - how do I stop it?" She had circled around to Emma's other side, and I swiveled around in my chair, my curiosity definitely piqued.

"You know, how do I let him go? What would you do?" she asked the blonde.

"I'd go," Emma said.

"What?" the teacher replied, looking surprised.

"I'd go! I mean, it's one thing to say that he wants you, another thing to actually do something. He made a choice . . . that's - well, that's all you can ask for." I nodded in agreement.

"Definitely go," I said to Mary Margaret. "Trust me, I've seen you two together. It seems pretty much like fate."

"Well . . . given her new friendship with Kathryn, I don't think Regina would be happy."

"All the more reason to do it," Emma replied, taking a bite out of her bear claw.

I grinned. "Amen, darlin'." Emma smiled back.

"Go to your Prince Charming already," I said, winking at Mary Margaret conspiratorially. She and Emma shared a brief look and then burst out laughing, before the teacher rushed from the station, calling over her shoulder, "Thank you!"

I looked at Emma, who was smiling delightedly, and said, "So . . . about the night shift . . ." Her eyebrows scrunched together as she glanced at me and replied with a simple but firm, "Hell no."

Nodding, I took another bite of pastry. "Don't worry, I'm nothing if not persistent."

* * *

_I glowered at the imp standing before me, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword. "You want me to do what?!"_

_"Protect him," Rumple repeated, looking both bored by our conversation and delighted in my furious reaction. "Guard him on this quest, and I will give you what you so desire." His voice hushed as he spoke his next words. "Do this, and you might just see her avenged."_

_My eyes flicked right to his, matching his steady gaze with my fiery glare. If I didn't like Rumple's knowledge of Isadora's condition, I despised his knowledge of Delphine's fate. It was something he always held over me, something worse than his store of information on me: of Izzy's fragile health or my love of chocolate, the town I was born in or my aunt's current whereabouts. No, this was the worst: my desire for vengeance. _

_"Where will I find him?" I asked flatly, not wanting to give in and show how much I hated his hold over me._

_"Just over that hill," Rumple said, and suddenly there was the piercing shriek of something I was quite familiar with. I glared at the Dark One, who looked very interested in a nearby patch of trees._

_"A dragon?!" I said furiously, fuming as I knew attacking Rumple wouldn't be advisable._

_"Yes, a dragon, dearie," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were familiar with the species." I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming at him and began walking backwards, towards the hill he'd pointed at._

_"You better keep this damn deal, Rumple," I said angrily, turning around to walk forwards. "Otherwise I'll be taking my vengeance out on you!" I heard him laugh wickedly at that, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that he had vanished. _

_By the time I had made it to the encampment, the prince I was supposed to be protecting had already gone off to slay a dragon. Frustrated, I had stolen one of the royal horses to ride all the way to the mountain. I wasn't sure why the knights were so reluctant to part with their horse, as it seemed to be just like any other horse; but I believed that being beaten to a pulp and tied up with their own rope changed their minds considerably. _

_I rode up after the prince and his little hunting party, who were all probably being roasted alive as I went charging after them. I left the horse a few hundred yards out, running the rest of the way and unsheathing my sword. _

_I reached the dragon's cavern just as two of the men stumbled out, completely burnt to a crisp. "Oh, hell," I muttered as I noticed that the blonde man - the stupid royal I was supposed to be protecting - was standing alone against the dragon, which had crawled its way out of its cave. _

_He ran at it, losing his sword in the process, and I sighed, leaning against a boulder to watch for a moment as he scrambled on the ground, unsure of what to do._

_Seeing that he was probably about to be killed, I strode over with my drawn sword and yelled, "Hey!" The dragon slowly turned to look at me. I instantly thought of every story I'd heard of dragons as a child: that they stole young maidens and kept them hidden within their caves for the rest of eternity as prisoners. Somehow, I doubted that would be enjoyable. _

_"Come on, then!" I yelled again, shifting my grip on the sword. "Just try and kill me."_

_It tilted its head, and a sudden stream of fire was erupting from its mouth. I rolled to the side, and sprinted towards the creature; it took a step back, but its size fortunately made it slower. I stabbed upwards with my blade, and it sank hilt-deep into the dragon's shoulder. I pulled on the blade, but it didn't budge: the sword was stuck, wedged between two scales the size of dinner plates. I gave up as it roared and spouted fire again, and I was forced to abandon the sword and duck to avoid being roasted alive. _

_It smacked me aside, and I hit the mountain with a crack that made pain shoot up my back. I winced, shifting on unsteady hands and feet as I tried to get up. Glancing up through a haze of pain, I could see the prince fighting the beast again, waving his own sword at it. _

_I stood, agony lancing through my limbs, and unsheathed a pair of wicked knives. Then, glaring icily at the creature who had hit me, I sprinted forwards and leapt onto the dragon's back._

_It roared again as I began slashing and stabbing, trying my hardest to get through its scales. I chipped away at the creature's armour, and I didn't even notice the pain in my lower back as I continued on my mission of pure destruction. The dragon spun around, trying to shake me off. I clung to it, slicing into its neck. Soon, the thing stumbled to the ground, too disoriented to get back up._

_I looked at the prince, who appeared completely surprised. I looked at him furiously and shouted, "Now, you idiot! Kill it!"_

_He nodded and slashed down with his sword, cutting the dragon's head clean off. I tumbled down off of its back, slowly getting to my feet and noticing the unfortunate amount of reptilian blood I was covered in. Curling my lip in disgust, I attempted to wipe it off of my face, only succeeding in smearing it across my forehead and cheeks. Frustrated, I opted to ignore the bloodstains._

_The prince was staring at me in utter fascination, and I gave him a cold stare. "I was present, you're still alive. I protected you. I'm done."_

_I began walking back to where I'd left the horse, and the prince called after me, "Who are you? Can I at least know my saviour's name?!"_

_I glanced back at him; he seemed like a nice enough guy, if a little on the noble side. Royalty would soon squash that out of him. Sighing, I replied, "Scarlet. Maeve Scarlet. And trust me, I'm no one's saviour."_

**Author's Note: Hi! :) Once again, I apologise for a crappiness of the last chapter, but I hope this once makes up for it. **

**So, Delphine - in case I haven't said this yet - is Maeve/Lindsey's mother. Isadora/Caroline is Delphine's sister. Also, I know that these first few chapters won't have tons of the Mary Margaret, David, Emma stuff in them, but that's because I didn't want to have a character who is already instantly part of the Charming family. I wanted to try and develop that relationship a bit differently, so . . . yeah. :) Sorry if there's not tons of stuff between them, but Lindsey's main relationships are with Ruby, Graham and Caroline, so I'm going to have much more with them at the moment. But, considering what the next episode is, Graham will not be a part of her life for much longer. And since she is sort of an unofficial intern at the police station, Emma will be much more important to her soon. :)**

**A quick but huge thank you to everyone reading this story, and thanks to szynka2496 for favourite-ing. Lots of love to all you wonderful flowers reading this fic! ;D**

**I'll update ASAP, and hope you all like this chapter! Until next time, lovelies.**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	7. Losing His Heart or Losing His Mind?

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its characters. Just Lindsey and Caroline. :) **

* * *

I knocked on the door of Mary Margaret's apartment, hoping to God I got the address right.

The dark-haired teacher answered, and I followed her inside a combined kitchen and living room where Emma was pouring some orange juice. I waved at her and she smiled back.

"What's up, ki - Lindsey?" she asked, saving herself at the last moment. I chewed the inside of my lip worriedly, thinking carefully before I said anything.

"Um . . . hi. I was just wondering if either of you has seen Graham anywhere?" Immediately, Emma stiffened a bit, and her face looked as if someone had just uttered the nastiest swearword against her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to fight back.

"No," she said slowly. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, really; I just went by the station a few minutes ago and he wasn't there. I've just never known him to be late, so I thought it was a bit weird."

"Oh," was all Emma said. I glanced between her and Mary Margaret curiously and asked, "Did I miss something?"

"Graham kissed Emma," Mary Margaret blurted out. Then she sighed happily. "It was hell trying to keep that in."

"Wait - what? Graham _kissed_ you?" I asked Emma. Mary Margaret nodded.

Emma shot her a look, which she hid behind her coffee mug from, and then looked at me. "Yeah, he kissed me last night. I didn't see him after that, though. He was drunk - maybe he just slept in or something."

I shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Nice flowers, by the way," I remarked, gesturing to the colorful contents of the garbage can. Mary Margaret blushed and took a long drink of coffee as Emma pulled the flowers out of the bin, placing them in a vase on the kitchen counter.

"They're from Dr. Whale," Emma explained her roommate's expression of embarrassment. I looked over at the teacher, grinning in spite of myself.

"So, Whale finally came to his senses and didn't act like a total ass?" I asked Mary Margaret, who nodded quietly, still blushing. "She's never done anything like this before, has she?" I asked Emma, who shook her head.

"The flowers are definitely promising," I said, still smiling. "Although a bit odd, considering Whale and a one-night-stand are not things used in the same sentence as 'romantic' or even 'cute'."

"I really shouldn't have called him after," Mary Margaret said thoughtfully, setting down her mug. I raised my eyebrows: did she actually _call _him? After a one-night-stand? "Oh, sweetie, you really are new at this," I said, smiling sadly at the teacher. She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Graham's probably fine," Mary Margaret said, looking at me. I nodded, still uncertain. But I pushed the thoughts away and turned to Emma, asking, "Are you coming into work today?"

"Why?" she asked, confused.

I shrugged. "Well, I mean . . . he kissed you, and you have the whole wall thing going on, so I figured maybe you wouldn't want to see him."

"Hold up - what 'wall thing'?" Emma demanded. Mary Margaret and I shared a quick glance and I gave her a look that said 'you-tell-her-she-probably-won't-hit-you'.

"Emma, you do have a kind of . . . wall, that you put up. And I think it's stopping you from seeing what is so obvious to the rest of us: that you have feelings for Graham." Emma scoffed, but I nodded in agreement.

"Trust me - I've seen enough people in this town fall madly in love, and I know what it looks like by this point. You fancy him, at the very least; care for him, at the very most. Even you can't say you don't care about him."

"But - oh, whatever," Emma said dismissively. "I don't have feelings for Graham."

"Sure you don't," I said, backing out of the apartment. "I'm just going to go and see if he's turned up yet. See you!" I closed the door, walking quickly down the hallway, worry still gnawing at my chest.

* * *

_I took another sip of the warm concoction the tavern keeper had handed me. I wasn't sure what the hell it was, but it looked a lot like mud and tasted like pure heaven - vanilla-laced heaven. I was sitting in a small tavern on the outskirts of a village whose name I couldn't pronounce, trying to ignore the stares I could feel from the nearby customers._

_Glancing up, I saw a tall, brunette man in fur pelts take a seat at a nearby table while a barmaid went to hand him a drink. A white-and-gray wolf had followed the man inside the tavern, and was curled up near his feet, munching on the nuts the man had tossed to it._

_He was a huntsman, and I saw everyone was suddenly watching him more than me. Takes a local threat to wipe away suspicion of a stranger, after all._

_"They letting animals in here now?" The question came from one of a pair of hunters standing at the bar. "This isn't a slaughterhouse." _

_"Forget it, he might as well be one, too." The other hunter was joining in, both of them now looking incredibly proud of themselves as they insulted the deadly killing machine that sat five feet from them. "I heard he was raised by 'em."_

_"He smells like one of them, anyway," said the ginger one._

_"Pathetic. I heard he cries over his kills!"_

_I rolled my eyes as the ginger walked over to the huntsman and said snidely, "Tell me, huntsman. What kind of man cries over the death of an animal?" He looked pointedly at the wolf, whose one eye gleamed bright red. I was now wholly invested in the impending fight._

_"An honourable one," the huntsman said quietly. I tilted my head curiously; for such a rough and frightening person, the man had a voice like honey: sweet, smooth and laced with bitterness._

_"What do you know about honour?" the hunter continued. _

_"I have it, they have it, you don't," the huntsman replied, and I swallowed back a grin. I was liking this guy more by the minute._

_They continued to taunt him, and it wasn't until the ginger one leaned down and said, "Do you know what happens to pets that threaten me? I hang them on my wall," that the huntsman moved. But when he did, he moved faster than lightning. He was suddenly standing and the ginger was on the ground, a dagger in his neck._

_I stood, grinning like a child on Christmas morning when two other hunters attacked him. They fought for a minute and when one of them shoved him against the wall, I joined in._

_I grabbed the one who'd shoved him by the back of the collar, throwing him to the ground and giving him a good kick in the side. He groaned but rolled slowly to his feet, and I proceeded to unsheathe my knives, which I slid quickly and precisely into his ribcage. He yelled in pain, and I shoved him back to the ground with a hard kick to his abdomen. _

_Turning around, I noticed the hunter throw the huntsman into the wall, and I scowled at him. He was keeping all the fighters to himself, was he? I slashed my daggers down the hunter's back, making him howl in pain, and shoved him head-first into the wall. He crumpled to the floor where he squirmed around, trying to stand. I simply placed my foot on his chest, effectively stopping him._

_"I didn't ask for your help," the huntsman said angrily, and I turned to look at him._

_"No, and you didn't need it. But I really needed to hit someone. So thanks." I grinned at him, waving, and walked happily out of the now-silent tavern. _

_At the time, I had had no idea that hundreds of miles away, the Evil Queen sat in her chambers watching all of our fight through a magical mirror, and said, "Both. Bring both of them to me."_

* * *

In was coming out of a long and torturous math class when I spotted him.

"Graham!" I called, surprised to see him around the schools. He was rarely here, unless some student - mostly it had been me - had earned a lecture from the town Sheriff.

"Graham, I was wondering where you were this morning," I said, trying to hide how relieved I was. I'd been tempted to skip all of school that day, but considering Caroline's recent awareness on how often I'd been absent, I hadn't had much of a choice but to attend.

"Sorry, went for a walk," he said, looking dazed. I bit my lip, worry now clouding all of my judgement. "Where are you going?"

"Just to see Henry," he replied quietly; he seemed lost in thought, his eyes distant. My unbearable curiosity stepped in for a moment: Graham was rarely this deep in thought, and he had never been unbelievably close to Henry before.

"Henry Mills? Why?" I asked, unable to stop myself from voicing a few questions. It was an unbreakable hamartia of mine.

"Just need to ask him a few questions about something . . ." he trailed off, and I took a deep breath before grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the police car.

"Alright, but you're driving," I said, opening the driver's side door for him. Without a word, Graham climbed inside and turned the key in the ignition. I hurried to slip into the passenger seat before he could drive off without me.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting on the edge of Henry's bed, while the ten-year-old flipped through his old, leather-bound book. I was as curious as ever, but also kind of confused on why Graham would go to the mayor's adolescent son for advice.

That is, until Graham stated his problem. "I'm having these . . . these flashes, like memories. And I don't know what they mean, but I was wondering if you and your book could help me understand them." That was when I knew Graham had completely lost it.

"Seriously? A fairy tale character?" I asked incredulously, as the Sheriff looked at the pages over Henry's shoulder.

Ignoring my exclamation, Henry turned to Graham. "When did your flashes begin?"

"When I kissed Emma, actually," Graham replied.

"You kissed my mom?!" Henry said, looking disgusted. I laughed softly at his reaction, but Graham quickly shushed me. I narrowed my eyes at the man, who met my glare with his own.

"What did you see?" Henry continued.

"A wolf." I sighed heavily, wondering what had made Graham had bought a ticket aboard the damn crazy train.

"I saw that I had a knife in my hand, and I was with Mary Margaret."

"Were you about to hurt her?" Henry asked, looking as if he already knew the answer. Graham nodded.

"Mary Margaret is Snow White, so you're . . . the Huntsman," he concluded, showing Graham a drawing in the book of a man holding a dagger.

"So, you really think that I could be . . . another person?" Graham asked hesitantly.

"Makes total sense," Henry replied. "You were raised by wolves, and that's why you keep seeing one. It's your friend - it's just trying to help you remember."

"I remember all of this - because I kissed your mother?" The Sheriff looked baffled, and I rolled my eyes impatiently.

"I told you," I whispered. "You don't have a past life." Although, said a tiny voice in the back of my mind. Graham's flashes sound awfully similar to your dreams . . .

"Henry," I said after he and Graham had finished discussing Graham's wolf-guide-stalker situation. "Is there any . . . I mean, am I in your book?" I felt crazy for ever having said it, but I needed to know. My dreams were now beginning to sound a lot more disturbing than I'd originally thought.

"Um . . . I don't know," Henry said, looking up at me. "I mean, I don't know who everyone is. You have to be, though. Everyone is in here somewhere."

I nodded silently, barely noticing when Graham pulled me up from the foot of Henry's bed and led me down the Mills' staircase, outside and back to the police car. I climbed into the passenger seat and he sat in the driver's side and, for a moment, we simply sat there in confused and heavy silence.

"It's insane," I said.

"I know."

"We're going to look for your still-beating heart, aren't we?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

_I walked into the Queen's chambers, a guard on either side of me and two behind me. I smiled faintly at this level of precaution, and my grin broadened as I spotted the Evil Queen herself, sitting in a velvety chaise lounge._

_She glanced in my direction for a moment, giving me a brief but thorough once-over, and I noticed the corner of her mouth quirk up a fraction of an inch. She didn't seem disappointed with what she saw._

_"Lady Scarlet," she said, standing._

_"Your Majesty," I replied, giving her a mocking curtsey. "Love the dress."_

_She looked down at the long, form-fitting gown, black lace embroidering her hips and chest, and smiled lightly. "Yes, I do like this one. Although black is still by far my best look."_

_"Yes - let's leave the reds to me," I said, grinning. "It is much easier to hide bloodstains in crimson, and with my occupation - well, it is a constant hazard."_

_Just then more footsteps echoed down the hallway outside the room and the Huntsman stepped through, accompanied by a single guard. He looked angry at his summons - something I had learned to hide with sarcasm until you can't hold it in any longer - and he glared daggers at everyone in the room._

_"You," he said coldly to me._

_I smiled and nodded. "You."_

_We both turned to look at the Queen, who was watching us with a sort of twisted curiosity. She walked towards us, and stared at the Huntsman intently. "You are a tortured one, aren't you? Is this because your parents abandoned you to the wolves?"_

_I sighed as he replied with a brief 'they-aren't-my-family-the-wolves-are-my-real-family' speech, still glaring. "Honestly, 'Gina, if I didn't know better, I'd say you just bring me here as an audience. Am I not tortured enough for your liking?"_

_The Queen looked at me, and I returned her angry stare with a mockingly sweet smile. "Hold your tongue, you degenerative ingrate." _

_I clutched my chest dramatically, still smiling. "Oh, how your words wound me, your Highness." The Queen rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist, sending me flying back into the wall. I smacked my head on the stone, and pain raced through my skull._

_"Guards, I have no use of sardonic idiots. Escort Lady Scarlet from the palace grounds. Do not attempt to kill her, as I have lost far too many soldiers to this mercenary already." And with that, my four guards half-dragged and half-carried me out of the Queen's chambers as I blinked white spots out of my vision._

_They tossed me onto the dirt road just outside the Queen's palace and I rolled forwards for a moment, unable to stop - until I felt someone's foot on my side, pinning me in place. I looked up to see a blurred Rumplestiltskin standing over me, looking amused by my current position._

_"Hello, dearie," he said, grinning as I scrabbled away from him on the ground._

_I unsheathed a knife, pointing it at his chest as I said, "What the hell do you want?"_

_"Oh, just to let you know why the dear Queen wanted you here in the first place," he said, walking slowly over to stand before me. He held out one greasy, reptilian hand, and after a minute I took it._

_"How would you know what she wants?" I asked, keeping a safe distance between us. _

_Rumple smirked at my hesitance and whispered, "Still a little wary after our last meeting, I see." He let out a maniacal laugh and I swiped at him with the dagger._

_"The Queen wants Snow White dead," he explained. "But she cannot kill the girl herself. She needs someone - oh, how did she put it: adept at murder." _

_"Why didn't she just call you, then?" I asked flatly, and Rumple rolled his eyes melodramatically. _

_"The Queen doesn't trust me like she used to. But that Huntsman on the other hand . . . well, she would definitely be willing to trust him." He looked a little disgusted, and I felt a pang of confusion._

_"Wait - does she love him?" I asked, feeling a bit disgusted myself._

_"Love, lust - with her it's typically the same thing," Rumple said dismissively. "But that is not my point, dearie. She wants Snow White dead - dear, lovely Snow. The prize jewel of the kingdom."_

_"One of the few royals who isn't a pretentious airhead," I added, familiar with Snow White. Girly, frilly, but not weak. Definitely not weak; I liked that about her. _

_"And the Huntsman is going to kill her," I said. A shudder ran through me. I was no stranger to killing - I was Maeve Scarlet, after all - but I had met Snow White. And I had met the Huntsman. _

_Rumple handed me a piece of parchment, which contained a map of the forest. "They'll be walking this path here," he said, pointing to a blue squiggle that ran through the woods. "In two days' time. I'll leave the rest up to you."_

_As he turned to walk away I grabbed his shoulder, confused. "Why are you doing this?"_

_Rumple laughed quietly. "Let's just say . . . I'm invested in that young girl's future."_

_And with that, the Dark One vanished, leaving me with my scattered thoughts and a map I hadn't meant to take. _

* * *

As soon as Graham began to pull away from the curb outside the Mills residence, Emma came driving down the street in her bright yellow Bug.

"Stop," I said, grabbing Graham's hand on the key. "You should tell her."

He glanced at me, his eyebrows drawn together in question, and I quickly elaborated. "Graham, trust me: if you are going on some wild scavenger hunt for the heart you think Regina ripped out of your chest in a past life that's recorded in Henry's book, you should probably tell Emma."

There was a long moment of silence, and I hoped that perhaps my insane point had driven some sense into him. But then he said, "Yeah, I should tell her," and I knew all hope of pulling Graham from his delusion was going to be futile.

He climbed out of the police car and went to talk to Emma; I opted to stay seated, wanting to give them some space. In the rear-view mirror, however, I caught a glimpse of Emma holding her hand over his chest, and placing his hand there, as well. Probably trying to explain to him that according to every scientist in the last few centuries, you need your heart to be inside your body to continue living. He didn't seem to grasp that, though.

Suddenly, they both turned around and stared down the street at something: I quickly craned to see, and felt every muscle in my body freeze. There, standing next to a parked car, was a great white-and-gray wolf, one of its eyes gleaming bright red.

It turned and walked calmly into the shrubbery, and I tumbled out of the police car, hurrying to catch up as Graham and Emma ran after it.

"We're chasing a wolf, in Maine, because we think it can lead us to Graham's heart, which is supposed to be locked inside a vault that Regina supposedly brought over to Earth from a past life in which all of us are fairy tale characters," I whispered to myself in disbelief. This was insanity. It was also, however, incredibly exciting, so I continued sprinting after the other two-thirds of the Storybrooke police department as they ran after the wolf.

The wolf led us all the way to the Storybrooke cemetery, where everything looked rather creepy as dusk set in. I glanced over my shoulder, trying to shake the feeling of being watched as I caught up to Graham and Emma, who were watching the wolf howl in front of a huge mausoleum.

"It's my friend, it won't hurt us," Graham said reassuringly, and I stared at him while trying to catch my breath.

"Of course it's your friend," I said under my breath. "Of course the wild animal with fangs isn't going to hurt us, because it's supposed to be your spiritual guide from the wilderness. Of course."

Graham ignored me and cautiously approached the wolf, who had stopped howling. It traipsed around the other side of the mausoleum but as we all hurried around the structure after it, we stopped. The wolf was gone.

"Okay, that was weird," I said quietly as Graham stared up at the mausoleum.

"What's up?" Emma asked, as the Sheriff was beginning to look a little mystified as he gazed at the building.

"It's my heart," he said. "It's - it's in there."

"Naturally," I whispered, mostly to myself. "Naturally we have to enter the dollhouse for dead people. It's only rational and not creepy at all."

Soon enough, Emma had kicked down the mausoleum door and Graham led the way inside, me filing in last. I hated mausoleums - sheds built for dead bodies? No, thank you. And walking into one at night, searching for a disembodied heart, after a vanishing wolf led us to the place seemed like the set up for every predictable horror movie I'd ever seen.

Graham began searching the small, cramped room, scouring the shelves with a flashlight. "There's got to be a door or something . . ." he muttered to himself while he looked. Emma and I exchanged a quick glance, but it was enough to establish one thing: we were both incredibly concerned for Graham's current mental stability.

As the Sheriff continued searching for vital organs, Emma held him by his shoulders and whispered, "Graham. Graham, there's nothing in here. It's going to be okay."

Just then a voice shouted, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I whirled around, and spotted Regina Mills standing outside the mausoleum. She held a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and looked absolutely furious.

As the three of us walked slowly out of the building, Emma asked the question that had cropped up in my own thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

"Bringing flowers to my father's grave like I do every Wednesday," Regina said, waving her bouquet as if we required evidence - which, honestly, I usually did.

"Your morbidity astounds me," I said. "What happened to just wearing pink?" When this remark was replied with nothing, I glanced around; everyone was looking at me as if I'd just sprouted a second head. "Mean Girls? Anyone? Damn," I muttered. "My jokes have never met such dead silence before."

"Shut up," Regina said angrily.

I shrugged apologetically. "Sorry about that, I make crappy jokes when I panic, and considering that I am now with an angry Regina Mills, in a cemetery, at night, I feel as though I have the right to panic."

"I said _shut up_," Regina exclaimed, looking more annoyed than angry now.

"Leave her alone," Graham said, stepping in front of me. "It's my fault. I was looking for something."

"Really?" Miss Mills replied, looking suspicious. "What were you looking for?"

"Nothing. It was, uh - nothing." Regina peered closer at him and said, "You don't look well, dear. Let's get you home." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, but Graham jerked back.

"I don't want to go home, not with you."

I began backing away, trying to get out of the crossfire as I knew that look in Regina's eyes: she was about to explode, she was so angry, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be in her way when she went on the warpath.

When she mentioned Emma's name, the blonde looked up and said, "This is between you two, Leave me out of it." I half-expected Regina to argue with her, but Graham began speaking: about how he didn't feel anything with her, how he would rather feel nothing at all than be with Regina any longer. I nearly gagged at the thought of them in a relationship. Regina and Graham? No. That would be like Satan dropping by Angel Gabriel's place for tea. Completely ridiculous.

"We're done," he said.

For a long moment no one said anything. Then Regina exploded - all over Emma Swan.

"This is your fault!" she said furiously, storming over to the deputy. Emma began arguing back, and for a moment I was terrified for her. I was familiar with Regina's wrath, and I knew that Emma had no idea what kind of hell she'd just unleashed on herself.

"Why is everyone running from you?" Emma said quietly. Then Regina punched the blonde right across the face.

But I was too distracted by Emma's words to concentrate on what was happening: _Why is everyone running from you? _Suddenly, I saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes, glaring into mine as a young girl yelled, _What are they running from? You! They're running away from you! _

As fast as the moment had come it was gone; and I was standing beside a mausoleum pillar, watching as Emma punched Regina right across the face. Graham pulled Emma back from the other woman and she said, "You're right, Graham. She's not worth it."

They began to walk off, and I followed them, glancing back over my shoulder: sure enough, Regina Mills was standing in front of the mausoleum, still clutching her bouquet of flowers, her shoulders shaking slightly as if she were - _crying? _I looked away, embarrassed to have seen her in such a private moment.

* * *

_Notching an arrow, I carefully darted through the brush of the forest, only a little ways away from the path that Snow White and the Huntsman would soon be walking down._

_Soon, I saw them: the Huntsman in a guard's armour, and Snow looking as beautiful as ever. Honestly, it was beyond reason how pretty she was. The young princess walked along the path, talking quietly to the disguised killer. Soon she'd stopped and pulled two apples out of her bag. Offering one to the Huntsman, he declined, and Snow took a bite of hers, studying him._

_"She picked you, didn't she?" I heard her say. _

_Suddenly, she brought a tree branch across his chest, knocking him to the ground and racing away, her cloak billowing out behind her as she sprinted down the forest's path._

_He ran after her, throwing his helmet to the ground. I chased them both, keeping my arrow in my bowstring as I ran through the undergrowth, wincing at how much noise my footsteps made in the dried greenery below my feet._

_I found Snow, cornered by the Huntsman, writing a note hurriedly on a piece of parchment. He raised his dagger, but before he could move another inch I fired my arrow. It embedded itself in his shirtsleeve, pinning him to a tree. I sprinted forwards and quickly kicked the dagger out of his hand, sending it skittering across the ground._

_He growled at me - something I assumed he'd learned from his 'true family' - and said, "What are you doing?!"_

_"Yes, what are you doing?" Snow asked from behind me. As I turned around as she saw my face, she gasped, covering her mouth with one slender hand. "Oh dear God, it's you."_

_I rolled my eyes impatiently. "Yeah, it's me: Maeve Scarlet, big bad - well, everything. But, as just displayed by my incredible accuracy with this -" I held up my bow "- I am kind of saving your life. So if you don't mind staying out of the way, that would be great."_

_I turned back to the Huntsman, who glared coldly at me while pulling the arrow out of his sleeve and breaking it in half. I aimed another one at his head, and he dropped the arrow halves to the ground. "What're you going to do? Kill me?"_

_"No," I replied after a moment of tense silence. "I'm not. I'm here to warn you of something. That there -" I said, gesturing to Snow White, who looked baffled by my actions "- is an innocent girl. And if you're going to believe anyone about killing innocents, believe me: once you take one innocent life, you change. You won't hesitate, you won't even think before taking another. Consider that before you do something irreversible." The Huntsman stared at me, bewildered._

_I turned to Snow, saying, "Now, I'd love to stay an chat, but I have an imp to yell at, so I'll be going now." As I walked past her, I pulled the second apple out of Snow White's bag. "See you around, Frosty." _

_The pair watched as I disappeared into the trees, headed for the Dark One's castle. I hadn't been kidding about yelling at an imp._

* * *

Graham had Emma sitting on the edge of the desk at the police station, a first-aid kit open on the desk. I was standing in the corner, thinking, when he said, "Linds, shouldn't you be going home?"

"Um . . . yeah, I guess so. Right." I began backing out of the station, tossing him a conspiratorial wink. "I'll just leave you guys to it."

Before either of them could reply, I had ducked out of the police station and was walking home, hoping to God that Caroline would be merciful when I arrived. And she was - a simple goodnight was all I received as she headed back down to the basement. I continued on upstairs, focused on maybe sleeping through the night.

But it wasn't the nightmares that woke me: it was Caroline, at six the next morning, shaking me and telling me that something was wrong.

Something had happened to Graham.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hi! :) Hope you liked this chapter. The next one is probably going to be a lot more emotional - there will be an explanation of Graham's funeral there - and Lindsey is going to be a bit sad/morbid for it, so . . . yeah. If you plan on reading the next chapter, prepare yourself. **

**A huge thank you to all of you wonderful readers, and thanks to HallowsHorcruxes for following, and Kitchyy for reviewing. :) **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	8. The Fortnight After

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or its characters. Just any of my OCs (Lindsey/Maeve, Caroline/Isadora, Delphine). **

* * *

Four days. I was sure it had been four days, maybe five. I had stopped counting after the second. It had been four days, and I still hadn't changed out of my funeral outfit.

The gauzy black dress that Caroline had picked out for me scratched at my thighs, and I had pulled off the little flowers sewn into the neckline. I was curled up in the armchair in our living room, staring blankly at the same space of wall that I'd been watching for the past couple of hours, hugging my legs to my chest, fingernails digging into my calves. I barely noticed the small spikes of pain.

But thinking about the scratchy material made me think about the funeral dress, which of course made me think about the funeral.

It'd been a sunny afternoon, which had ticked me off. Graham was dead, and the world was just going on as if it were any other Tuesday: sun shining, birds chirping. It sickened me.

The service was quiet, generic: one of the nuns - Mother Superior - had performed it, saying a brief sermon about life and loss over a casket draped in flowers. I had stared blankly as the casket was lowered into the ground. Stood there, choking back sobs as they buried Graham in still-soft soil. Caroline had walked back to the car with one arm wrapped around my shoulders, a few tears running down my cheeks. We'd driven home in silence, Caroline tapping on the steering wheel nervously. I'd climbed the stairs without a word, kicked off my heels, collapsed on my bed and fallen asleep.

Waking up the next morning, I'd switched to the armchair in the living room, and hadn't moved much since, slipping in and out of restless sleep. Caroline had tentatively asked me if I'd like to eat something, but I'd declined with a silent shake of the head. At this rate, I was pretty sure my voice would disappear due to lack of use.

After two days, however, my empty, silent trance was shattered as a sharp knock on the front door echoed through the hallway. I stayed where I was, waiting for Caroline to answer it. The knock sounded again, and I heard my aunt open the door and speak quietly to the knocker. Footsteps followed her into the house, and I shifted my gaze to another spot on the wall, craving a bit of variety. After my eyes had moved I decided that that was enough variety for the day.

Caroline opened the door into the living room and said softly, "Lindsey, sweetie? There's someone here to see you. You don't mind talking to someone, do you?" She'd been awfully considerate about the whole catatonia situation, and I felt a rush of gratitude towards her. Whatever happened, I knew Caroline had my back; she wouldn't try and force me out of my seclusion. However, the same could not be said for our visitor.

"Miss Welles," said a familiar voice from the doorway. "How've you been?"

For the first time in hours, I moved my head to the side, already aiming an icy glare at the man who leaned in the doorframe, gripping his cane: Mr. Gold.

"No 'hello', then?" he asked, looking hurt. He walked into the room, taking the seat across from my armchair of isolation. Caroline stood in the doorway, looking worried.

"Have you even spoken in the past twenty-four hours?" he demanded, looking from me to my aunt; I said nothing, but Caroline spoke up, her voice tinged with anxiety. She was afraid of Gold - almost everyone in town was - and under normal circumstances, I might've been disturbed by his visitation to my own home. But at the moment, in my numb seclusion, I wasn't scared of Mr. Gold. I just wanted him to leave.

"Not since the service," Caroline explained, then chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. It was a habit I'd gotten from her.

Gold gave me a brief once-over, scrutinizing every inch of my tattered dress and my unkempt appearance, and made a low sound of disapproval.

That was when I snapped.

My gaze turned murderous as I said in the coldest tone I could manage with my scratchy voice, "Get out. Gold, you pathetic, vindictive coward, _get out_." There was a moment of dark silence as the man before me assessed my words. Then he replied, saying, "No."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. "I'm sorry to burst your proverbial bubble of sadness, Miss Welles, but there are actual issues to be taken care of at the moment, and you need to have blood circulation in order for those things to happen, do you understand me? Now, get up."

Caroline walked into the room, saying in a shaky voice, "You should leave her alone," when I slowly stood up, glaring furiously at Gold. He stood with me, glaring back, his eyes almost challenging.

"What do you want?" I spat.

"You need to accompany me to a short business meeting," he said calmly. "It will benefit not only me, but everyone else in this damned town."

"I have a hard time believing that," I shot back angrily. There was a pause.

"Let me take a shower first." Gold smiled smugly as I left the room, and I made sure to quickly flip him the finger before heading upstairs to the bathroom.

* * *

Half an hour later, we were knocking on the door of Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment, and I was feeling rather odd without the scratchy material of my funeral dress. Pinching myself on the wrist, I quickly drove any thought of the funeral from my mind.

Emma opened the door, and stared at us rather awkwardly. "Um . . . hi, Lindsey." I gave her the smallest of smiles in response, but couldn't manage much more than that.

"Hello, Miss Swan," Gold said, exuding the sort of restraint and politeness as he always seemed to around Emma. "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

She looked back at Mary Margaret, who was unpacking groceries. The teacher peered at the three of us for a long moment before saying, "I'll let you two talk," and disappearing up the stairs.

"Come on in," Emma said, sounding a bit annoyed. Gold and I stepped into the apartment, the businessman following Emma while I took a seat at the table. Even walking from my brownstone next door to the apartment building seemed exhausting.

"I heard about what happened," Gold continued. "Such an injustice." My eyebrows drew together in confusion: what the hell was Gold talking about?

"Yeah, well, what's done is done," Emma replied heavily, putting down the knife she'd been holding. I glanced over to the kitchen counter where a ruined toaster sat.

"Spoken like a true fighter," Gold remarked sarcastically.

"I don't know what chance I have," she said in frustration, bracing her hands on her hips. "She's the mayor and I'm, well . . . me." A tiny flicker of curiosity sparked in the back of my mind, but was quickly extinguished when I remembered how much Graham used to tease me about how irritatingly curious I always was. I pinched my wrist again.

"Miss Swan, two people with a common goal can accomplish many things. Two people with a common enemy . . . can accomplish even more."

To hell with any sad memories, I thought. The tiny spark had relit the flame of my obsessive curiosity again, and for the first time in four days I spoke by choice when I said, "Okay, is someone going to tell me what the hell you're talking about?"

Emma looked over at me and said, "It's been two weeks. Sheriff's position is legally mine now. But Regina just put Sidney Glass in as Sheriff, and fired me." At these last words, I could have sworn steam was coming out of her nose. But I was too distracted by what she'd said before that. Two weeks? It'd been two weeks since Graham's death? I'd thought it was only days. Caroline had put up with me ghosting about the house for a fortnight? Another rush of gratitude for my aunt appeared, and I made a mental note to thank her every day for at least the next decade.

"Anyhow, Miss Swan . . . how would you like a benefactor?" Gold asked, looking more and more like the scheming evil-doer that everyone thought him to be. He had a glint in his eyes that made you either want to run in the opposite direction - or keep talking to him. Just being around that expression of his made you feel a little bit stronger, or cleverer, or more powerful.

They sat down at the table with me, and Mr Gold opened the thick binder he'd carried over with him. "You know, it's astonishing how many people neglect to read the town charter."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? 'Cause that's next on my reading list."

Gold ignored me and looked at Emma. "It's quite eye-opening, really - and the mayor's authority. Well, she may not be as powerful as she seems."

* * *

On the walk back to my house, I stopped Gold before he could pass by the small brownstone building. "Wait. Why did you want me to come tonight?"

Gold turned around, studying my expression as if it were the most fascinating science experiment in the laboratory. "She trusts you, Miss Welles. Not me. And I'm going to need to use that if we are to keep Regina from regaining control of the police."

As he moved to walk away I added, "Why do you care so much about that?"

There was a moment's silence before Gold answered. "I don't. Motives are not always what they appear to be, Miss Welles. You would do well to remember that." And with those odd words, he walked down the street and I shivered in the cold autumn air, reluctant to go back inside.

* * *

_Daggers twirl in my fingers, flashing sunlight off of their wickedly sharp edges as they spin in my grip. I throw one with the kind of accuracy that only comes from years of practice, and the blade buries itself hilt-deep in the oncoming soldier's chest. I pitch the second one forward, and it does the same to the second attacker. I spin around to face a third, drawing a short sword from its sheathe, and slash it across his stomach. The man stumbles, clutching his abdomen, and I give him a hard kick to the side that sends him tumbling down to the ground. _

_When I whirl around, however, I am suddenly standing in an empty courtyard, a single, forlorn fountain spouting water in a futile attempt to break the heavy silence of the space. The last rays of twilight are fading, and I am waiting for someone. Worry gnaws at my chest, but melts away as I hear soft footsteps behind me. Turning, I can see him: he is running now, towards me. Sweeping me into his arms, all I can see are brown eyes and the flash of a warm smile in the dim light. _

_Then I am curled up on a cold stone floor, chains wrapped tightly around my wrists and feet. A boy stands in front of me, his expression colder than the drafty chamber. "Let me go!" I plead from my spot on the floor; every inch of me aches, as if I've been beaten. Dirt and blood cake my hair and hands, and I can feel tear-tracks tracing down my cheeks. "Let me go - please." I choke out the last word, which is painful and leaves an ashen taste in my mouth. _

Then Caroline was shaking me awake, looking worried. I was back in my bed at last, which had obviously relieved her upon my return from Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment - as did my voice, which was returned with me. But the nightmares persisted.

* * *

"You sure you want to come with me?" Emma asked me as she pulled over. We were sitting in her Bug, which I was slowly growing fond of, and parked just outside the mayoral offices.

I nodded, feeling my lips twitch into a small smile. The action still felt a bit foreign, but it felt good. "Oh, I'm definitely sure. Any chance to piss Regina Mills off isn't something I'll pass up."

"She could, you know, rain hell down on you for helping me," the blonde said, although even she sounded a bit skeptical at this idea.

I rolled my eyes - something else I hadn't done in a while. "Whatever. I think I can handle a bit of hell. Practice for when I actually go." Emma grinned at me, and we got out of the car, striding purposefully up the front steps and entering the building.

"Sidney Glass, your new Sheriff," I heard Regina say as we walked into the room.

"Hang on a second," Emma said loudly from the back, with me following a bit behind her, a bit awed by how nice the mayoral offices were. I'd never been inside - except once, at night, when I'd been on a bit of a breaking-and-entering kick - and everything seemed incredibly grand compared to what I would've pictured an office building to look like.

"Oh, Miss Swan, this is not appropriate," Regina said disdainfully. "And Miss Welles." I tossed the mayor a smirk and a small wave. Everyone had turned to gape at us as we walked up the center of the room, towards Regina and Sidney.

"The only thing inappropriate is this ceremony," Emma replied flatly. I nodded, glaring at Regina.

"You don't have the power to make Sidney Sheriff."

"The town charter clearly states that the mayor may appoint -"

"A candidate," Emma finished. "You can appoint a candidate."

"The term candidate is applied loosely," Regina fired back.

"No, it's not," I said. "Trust me - we received an hour-long lecture about this less than twenty-four hours ago. We know what we're talking about."

Regina shot me a withering glare and turned back to face Emma, who said, "It calls for an election. And I'm running."

"So is Sidney," Regina said. Sidney glanced up at the mention of his name and said, "I am?" which turned to "I am," after a look from mayor Mills. I suppressed a snort of derision at the man's uncanny ability to play puppet with his master.

"I guess we'll see a little more about the thoughts of the people," Regina said, smiling coldly, trying to turn this incident around in her favour in front of the reporters.

"I guess we will," Emma replied.

As we walked back out, I waved at the pair over my shoulder saying, "See you, Miss Mills, Miss Mills' pet!" I was a bit disappointed neither of them had the guts to throw something at me while I left.

* * *

It took Sidney Glass - with Regina pulling the strings, of course - no more than forty-eight hours to publish a smear campaign against Emma Swan. I was staring at the newspaper in disgust, the title 'Ex-Jailbird' printed in huge bold letters across the top.

"You okay, Linds? You look like you're going to - oh," Ruby said, peering over my shoulder at the headline.

"It's okay, really. You guys could still win this." I can hear the silent 'maybe' at the end of her brief consolation, and I heaved a sigh as I swiped my finger across the top of my hot chocolate, licking off the whipped cream.

"I don't know if I hate his guts or if I'm proud that he has the guts to do this," I said quietly, still staring at the paper. "But I'm probably gonna go with the first option."

Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Henry sitting by himself in a booth, also reading the newspaper and looking a bit crestfallen. I looked at Ruby, who shrugged, and set down my paper. "I'll be back later," I said, picking up my hot chocolate and walking over to Henry.

Sitting down across from him, the kid glanced up at looked at me with a solemn expression. I sighed, splaying my fingers across the headline to obscure the words and said, "Henry, you know Sidney's just playing the bad guy to get Emma fired, right? She's not a bad person." This I was certain of. In fact, I didn't care at all that his mother had gone to prison - if anything, it simply explained her guarded behaviour - but I knew that everyone else would view her a little more shrewdly. It was ridiculous, but there it was.

"I know," Henry said quietly, and I sighed again, this time out of frustration at Regina. This was the kid she was always claiming to protect, and here she was, posting a campaign against his birth mother in order to ruin her chances of keeping a job in town. Sometimes, I liked to consider Regina Mills a complicated woman who does things out of fear, as Archie Hopper often suggested. This was not one of those times.

Emma walked into the diner, spotted Henry and I sitting together and slid into the seat beside her son. She glanced at him staring at the newspaper, remarked on it, and Henry flipped the Daily Mirror over to show her the headline. Emma took the newspaper, clutching it tightly, and I could see the trace of alarm in her expression as she read the title.

"Is it a lie?" Henry asked her.

"No," Emma said, just as quietly. I felt a bit uncomfortable, as if intruding on something, and moved to get up; but Emma shook her head, giving me a look that said 'don't bother'.

"I was born in jail?" Henry asked, slightly louder. I couldn't tell if the kid was upset or not; it just sounded as if he desperately needed confirmation from Emma herself.

"Yeah," she replied. Henry said nothing. She looked at him for a moment before saying, "Please tell me you're not scarred for life." I laughed softly as Henry replied. "No - not by this anyway."

"Good. Then we will just have to get our news from somewhere more reliable. Like . . . the internet."

I grinned at the blonde. "Wikipedia's always helpful, and not nearly as unreliable as people seem to think."

Emma winked at me, a silent thank you for not asking anything. Henry spoke up then, saying, "This is why good never wins - because good doesn't do this kind of thing. You can't beat my mom; she's evil, and evil fights dirty." I thought maybe the kid had a point.

"I have an ally now," Emma said. I coughed discreetly, and she amended the statement. "Okay, two allies. Lindsey and Mr Gold."

Henry looked mildly horrified by this announcement. "Mr Gold? He's even worse."

I shrugged, taking a sip of my hot chocolate. "I can't argue with that logic." When Emma shot me a questioning glance, I elaborated. "Trust me, Emma. As bad as Regina is - and yeah, she's kind of horrible - Gold is way worse. Metaphorically speaking, Regina is the common cold to his chicken pox: mildly annoying, but doesn't leave you with nearly as many scars."

"You already owe him one favour," Henry added. "You don't want to owe him anymore. Don't do this."

"You saw what happened with Ashley's deal," I said. "He's like that with everyone."

"Whose side are you on?" Emma asked me incredulously. "You think I shouldn't go to Gold for help on this one?"

"God, no - by all means, get his help. We'll need it if we want to make you Sheriff again. But be careful when you're dealing with him, Emma. I know I sound paranoid -"

"You are paranoid," Ruby remarked as she passed our table, smiling wickedly at me. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"But he really is dangerous."

Emma looked between me and Henry for a long moment before standing up, saying, "I think I'll go talk to that common cold before enlisting any chicken pox. Come on, Henry, I'll take you home." I grinned at her and stood myself, walking back to the counter where Ruby stood, waiting with a huge smile.

"What's with you?" I asked as I pushed myself up onto a barstool.

Ruby kept grinning. "Are you free next Saturday? Because I was thinking . . . I mean, I'm going out with Billy, and he has this friend who -"

"Ruby?"

"Yeah, Linds?"

"Absolutely not."

* * *

_I am standing in a dark room, damp and drafty. My hands and feet are chained to the wall behind me, and I struggle against my bonds furiously. Footsteps soon approach me, and something rakes along my cheek, pain exploding across my face. I open my mouth to scream, but as soon as it has come the pain is gone._

_My hands and feet are free of chains, and I am standing near the back of a crowded ballroom. I shift uncomfortably in my dress, and glare in the direction of a blonde girl in a grand white gown, as though this discomfort is her fault. A voice in the back of my mind whispers "Not yet, dearie." _

_Then I am sprinting down a dirt path in the woods: but these are not ominous or frightening woods at all. They are bright with color, golden sunlight filtering down through the leaves overhead. A warm breeze brushes through my hair, tickling my shoulders. I am running alongside someone else: a young boy with a shock of blonde hair, and he is laughing right back at me as we sprint together, down this dirt path in the not-scary forest with the soft breezes, and it feels insanely like home. _

_That image is ripped away, however, and replaced with another: I am wielding a pair of knives and standing before a tall, cloaked man with golden yellow eyes. He growls, a low animal sound, and lunges forward, shifting into a huge wolf in midair as he pounces at me. I raise my daggers up towards his throat and then there is blood rushing everywhere -_

- And I sat up in bed, breathing heavily, my hands scrabbling all over my shoulders and arms and chest, trying to scrub away bloodstains that don't exist. It took almost ten minutes that time, but I calmed my breathing and stood, picking up my notebook and opening it to a fresh page, where I documented the most recent nightmare in shaky handwriting. I used three pages before finally getting it right; by then, it was nearly three in the morning. Crawling back into bed, I shivered underneath my covers, trying to sleep with the chill that had settled deep under my skin.

Caroline woke me up the next morning at nearly six, shaking me and saying, "Lindsey, you're friends are here! They need your help with Emma Swan's campaign posters today."

I groaned quietly into my pillow and rolled out of bed, rubbing the sides of my head where I could already feel a headache coming on. Caroline flashed me a quick grin and hurried from the room, probably to ask anybody if they wanted any tea or coffee. That was my aunt: always excited when I had friends over, even if most of my 'friends' were a decade older than me. I pulled on some clothes that I scavenged from my laundry bin and stared into the mirror for a moment to flatten my horrific bedhead and shoved some chapstick into my jacket pocket.

I took the stairs by two, hurrying down to the living room where Mary Margaret, Archie and Ruby sat on chairs, Caroline chatting happily with them. The teacher was warm, Archie was as polite as ever, and Ruby shot me the same half-smile that she always did when around Caroline: the smile that said 'your-aunt-is-annoying-yet-adorable'. Caroline was like a constantly mewing kitten.

She smiled brightly at me as I walked into the room, then pursed her lips at my choice of clothes. I glanced down at my outfit: faded black leggings I'd had forever and a Pierce the Veil tee shirt. It was probably the shirt - Caroline, as accepting as she was, still had trouble loving some of my music. Caroline Welles listening to punk rock? Yeah, right. The idea was as ridiculous as Satan listening to bubblegum pop. Insanity.

I shrugged at her in a 'what-can-you-do?' sort of way, and she left the room with a resigned sigh. The trio stood, smiling at me, and I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling that you three are thinking something and are now trying to communicate with me telepathically because you don't want to say it aloud?"

"Because that's exactly what we're doing," Ruby said, grinning at me. "I'll say it: Caroline. Can I keep her?"

I rolled my eyes as Mary Margaret and Archie laughed, and then the teacher went right down to business. "Okay, we have the posters of the fire photos printed up, and there are at least twelve blocks of town we can put them up in, and six of us. Teams, then. Ruby, you and Granny will go together. Archie and Marco - and Pongo. Lindsey, you're with me."

"Hold up - fire? What fire?" I demanded, looking from one person to the next for an explanation.

"The fire at the mayor's office last night," Ruby said, looking baffled that I didn't knew what they were talking about. "I keep forgetting you weren't there - it just seems right up your alley, Linds. Emma pulled Regina out, saved her life. We got a picture of Emma rescuing the mayor, and made campaign posters. And . . . yep, that's everything."

My eyes were wide with surprise, and I gaped at the trio. "Fire? Damn, I feel out of the loop. You sleep for one night . . . although a fire? Was it an accident or arson? Has anything been moved yet? God, I hope no one moved anything yet . . ." I was soon muttering under my breath, thinking aloud, my mind racing.

"You shouldn't have told her everything," Mary Margaret chided Ruby quietly. "I knew she'd get like this, all -"

"Obsessive?" Ruby suggested with a laugh. I just stuck my tongue out at her, and she did the same to me. "It's Lindsey, she would've found out eventually. You can go look at the crime scene later, dork. Until then, posters." The brunette handed me a stack of papers, and Mary Margaret looped her arm through mine, guiding me towards the front door with a bright smile.

"Lindsey, sweetie, stop thinking about it," she said to me ten minutes later, as we rounded the corner to our second block of poster-posting.

"I can't," I said in frustration. "Was it arson? Has anyone said anything yet? It was probably arson. Of course, who would want to set fire to Regina's office? Never mind, that list is way too long . . ."

"You're muttering again," Mary Margaret remarked offhandedly. "Pass me the staple gun?" I passed her the tool, still thinking.

"_I must know_," I said melodramatically, and the teacher laughed. Her grin evaporated, however, when she saw David Nolan coming over to our poster board. I glanced at her, then at David, and figured this wasn't a good time to bring up 'the Nolan Trap' theory.

"David," she said, a little breathlessly, her smile as false as Ruby's extensions. I pressed my lips together to keep from saying anything - or rather, from releasing my inner hell-spawn on the man who had screwed with her head.

"Mary Margaret," he replied, also a bit too friendly. He looked at me, saying, "Lindsey."

"Nolan," I said flatly. For a moment there was uncomfortable silence, until my partner decided to say something along the lines of 'how's life?' instead of what she really wanted to say, which was more like 'why did you leave me for your potentially psychotic wife?'

"Good, good," David said, looking a bit awkward. "I, uh, I got a job. Yeah, it's at the animal shelter."

"That's great," Mary Margaret said. When David glanced at me, I simply nodded, a gesture that I didn't like all too much. Agreeing with him felt wrong.

"Sidney Glass," the teacher remarked, glancing at the poster. I raised a questioning eyebrow at Mr Nolan - even if he had messed with Mary Margaret, I didn't think he would want someone like Regina Mills pulling the strings at the police department.

"Yeah, my wife's friends with the mayor, so . . ." I pinched my wrist to keep from wringing his neck. Yes, David, let's bring up Kathryn Nolan, the woman who you chose over Mary Margaret, who happens to be standing right freaking here! It took all of my willpower not to yell at him; however I narrowed my eyes and gave him the most furious look I could manage without letting Mary Margaret notice. He winced a bit under my gaze.

"Right, yeah . . . how is, um, Kathryn?" It sounded painful for the teacher to say the name, but she managed through it and I felt a moment of pride on Mary Margaret's behalf. Here she was, in love with a guy she could never have, and managing small talk about his wife.

"She's, uh - she's great," David said, looking a bit taken aback.

"Awesome," I said, throwing as much sarcasm as I possibly could into the one word. "But we are out of posters," I added, discreetly tucking the few posters underneath the back of my jacket. "So we are going to have to get some more. Until next time, you tactless idiot." Mary Margaret looked as if she might protest my last sentence but, sensing her way out, she walked with me as I hurried away from the bulletin board.

"Thank you," Mary Margaret whispered as soon as we were out of earshot. "Except that bit at the end. 'Tactless idiot'? Really?"

"Are you really defending him?" I replied skeptically, and there was a pause as the teacher sighed and said, "Good lord, I hope not." I laughed at that.

"So, how do you think Emma'll do at the debate this afternoon?" Mary Margaret asked conversationally, as if trying to smooth over the awkwardness of the previous conversation.

I stopped in my tracks. "Oh, hell. What debate?"

* * *

"You'll do great, Emma."

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

"If you screw up, just try to make it seem funny. People like funny."

"Lindsey!" Mary Margaret swatted my arm as Ruby coughed to disguise a laugh, but winked at me conspiratorially. I winked back, grinning.

"It's time," Archie said, looking at Emma. I'd never seen her look nervous before: now, she was definitely nervous. Maybe even terrified. She and Mary Margaret had had a small talk before anyone else arrived to wish her luck, and now I was a bit worried she might back out of the debate, she looked so scared. But as we all took our seats and the curtains drew back, Emma was still sitting there, watching the crowd of people. Our little group waved at her, as did Henry near the front - until Regina shook her head at her 'son'. I rolled my eyes.

"Let the fun begin," I muttered to myself as Archie began with a joke that no one laughed at.

"Now, our first candidate, Sidney Glass," the man said, looking relieved to hand over the attention to someone else. Sidney stepped up to the podium, looking sure of himself, and smiled. But it wasn't friendly: it wasn't anything at all. It was the smile of someone who's been told to smile by their master, and I couldn't help but glance at Regina as he stood there for that moment.

"I will reflect the best qualities of Storybrooke if elected: honesty, neighbourliness, and strength." He sat back down to applause.

Glass? Reflect? I thought in disdain. Seriously? Was he opening with a pun?

Emma approached the podium reluctantly and said, "You all know that I have what's called a troubled past. But you've all been able to look over that because of the whole 'hero' thing." My lips quirked up in a smirk, proud of her sarcasm. "But here's the thing: the fire was a setup." My smirk vanished. What the hell was she doing? "Mr Gold agreed to help me, but I didn't know that that meant he was going to set a fire." People were whispering all over the room now.

"And I can't win that way," Emma finished, and sat back down.

At the same time, with the eye of everyone in the room trained on him, Mr Gold stood up and walked back out of the auditorium, gripping his cane tightly. After a long moment of more whispering, I turned to Mary Margaret.

"I told you it was arson."

* * *

I sat in Granny's a few hours later, Emma and Henry on my right, Mary Margaret and Archie on my left, with Ruby standing behind the counter in front of me. Surrounded by friends. Surrounded by people I cared about, some of whom cared about me. All in all, not bad company.

Finishing my victory hot chocolate, as Emma had won the election by much more than Mayor Mills was willing to admit, I watched as the new Sheriff and her son talked in hushed tones about Henry's book and something they called 'Operation Cobra'. Still wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded both interesting and incredibly suspicious, which piqued my curiosity. I made a mental note to ask the kid about it later.

Ruby slid a cup of tea towards me and I took it gratefully, pressing my hand against my forehead, which pounded from a headache. I was certain that I was coming down with _something. _Although I would probably be eternally grateful to any illness that could get me out of a date with Ruby's newest target.

"Look, just meet him, talk a bit, maybe get coffee or something," she said, then a delighted look came over her face and I felt a flicker of worry.

"Oh, God, I know that look. That's your 'I-just-had-an-epiphany-to-make-Lindsey's-blind-dates-even-more-awful' look. What is it?" Ruby just gave me a wicked grin and shook her head, vowing herself to silence.

"You'll just wait and see. How about next Saturday, then?" I sighed heavily, but she persisted, giving me puppy eyes and pressing her hands together as if in prayer. "Please, Lindsey, please, please, please! Just one - meeting. Doesn't even have to be a date."

Upon hearing our conversation, Mary Margaret laughed, whispering in my ear, "Just say yes. It could be fun, Lindsey. You never know." I glanced at her, highly doubting the truth in her words, but finally relented under Ruby's puppy eyes.

"Fine!" I said, throwing up my hands in mock surrender. "You know what, fine! I'll go on a meeting with him - coffee, here at Granny's. We will talk, we will drink coffee or tea or whatever, and that will be the end of that, alright?"

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around me over the counter. I quickly shifted my tea out of her way. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Linds. I swear, this will not be like the last one!" She winked, and I groaned and put my head down on the counter, thinking about the last blind date Ruby Lucas had set me up on.

"Oh, good God, what've I done?" I mumbled into my hands.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay! So this chapter was kind of filled with comic relief, because Graham's death was sort of depressing at the very beginning, but I figured that it would develop more of Lindsey's relationship between her and Mary Margaret and David if they were part of the whole mourning/healing thing there. Also a bit of Mr Gold sarcasm, 'cause why not? :) I am very aware that a Mary Sue is a self-insertion/flawless character - and I am trying my absolute hardest to give Lindsey/Maeve flaws and not make her at all like myself - but a lot of the commentary in this is just things that I thought while watching this episode and I was like "hey, why not add it in Lindsey's thoughts?" So I did. :)**

**Sorry I vanished, but I caught up with the rest of Teen Wolf. I was actually watching episode 3x23 last night, and listening to the Former Vandal song 'War' (parts one and two), which is why the beginning of this was a bit depressing. Because I was depressed over a really sad death of my favourite character in Teen Wolf. :'( **

**Thank you to heboosh and szynka2498 for favourite-ing this story, and 23a for following. And a huge thank you to how many people have read this fic! I've honestly never had this many people read my writing before, so it kind of freaked me out at first. But thank you, you wonderful flowers! :) **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	9. Memory Lane

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters, just my own OCs. **

* * *

_I sat in Regina's carriage, directly across from the Evil Queen herself. _

_We were traveling down a road through the woods - the ones she considered her own - and I was trying my hardest not to commit murder. So far, so good. _

_Regina was watching me with something akin to curiosity, absently tapping the side of her chin as she studied me. I hated being confined to such close quarters; after spending several weeks in her dungeon once before, this was torture. Of course she probably knew that, and I shifted restlessly in my seat under her scrutinizing gaze. _

_"How are you, Lady Scarlet?" she asked me, although the word 'Lady' seemed to leave a sour taste in her mouth. Regina had always been uncomfortable about my age: someone who appeared barely seventeen shouldn't be an infamous mercenary in her opinion. Although she would probably be much more understanding if she knew my real age . . . I pushed the thought aside. No one needed to know about that. _

_"Fine," I said stiffly, glaring at the Queen. "Do you mind explaining to me where we're going?" As I spoke, my hand flitted to the hilt of my sheathed dagger, my fingers fluttering over the worn leather in an unspoken threat._

_"Just a jaunt through the forest is all," she said, trying to sound pleasant; then Regina leaned a bit closer, her dark eyes alight with malice. "I was recently told of how close you were to the woods, growing up. Thought this might bring back . . . old memories." She seemed incredibly proud of her knowledge, as if this information had been difficult to obtain. In fact, it probably had; I despised people's knowledge of my past. _

_"Right." I glared at her for a bit longer before slowly moving my hand from my knife, and Regina seemed to relax just a tiny bit. I suppressed a smirk: I was making her nervous? Brilliant._

_Regina sat abruptly upright, looking shocked by something. But her expression of surprise quickly morphed into that of delight as she ordered for the carriage to stop. I could hear the soldiers moving outside, and scuffling feet. Regina threw open the carriage door and leaned out, peering out onto the road._

_"And what are you doing in my forest?"_

* * *

Sitting in Granny's, my chin resting in my hands, I was only half-listening to Ruby, who was describing her recent date with Billy, who she actually seemed to be getting a tad serious with. I was happy for her, really - but there's only so many times I could listen to her talk about how polite or cute or a good kisser he was. I actually felt a bit awkward towards Billy now, who I barely knew.

I clicked on my phone and quickly sent Emma a text: 'Anything happening?' It took her a few minutes to reply, but when she did I sat bolt upright in my seat, staring delightedly down at the screen.

"Sorry, Ruby, but I've got to go," I said, unable to wipe the grin off of my face. I threw on my coat as Ruby called after me. "Don't forget about this Saturday, Linds!"

I reached the street Emma had stated only a few minutes of sprinting later, and hurried to where I could see the Storybrooke police car parked outside a gray-stucco house. Two kids got out of the backseat - a blonde girl and brunette boy - and walked to the front door. The girl waved at the police car, which took off down the block.

"Really, Emma?" I muttered in annoyance, running to catch up.

But a few minutes later, the car had returned, Emma looking worried from the driver's seat. I jogged up to the window and tapped on the glass; the blonde rolled it down. "Afternoon, Miss Swan."

She smiled at me and climbed out of the car. I was still a little breathless from all the damn running, but listened intently as possible while she explained. "So I'm going inside to check. Wanna help?"

I grinned. "Emma Swan, clearly you haven't read my file. I'll have the lock picked in less than a minute." She nodded and we walked up to the front door, where I pulled a hairpin from my jeans pocket and stuck it inside the keyhole.

"How often do you do this?" The Sheriff sounded a bit concerned as I moved the pin around carefully.

I shrugged. "Like I said, it's all in the file. Graham had quite extensive records." At the mention of his name I blanched a little bit, and bit my lip, hard. Then I heard the tumblers click and the front door swung open at my touch. "Got it."

We strode inside, carefully not to make much noise. I glanced at Emma, who looked completely at ease sneaking into other peoples' houses. "So, how do you know that the kid was lying?"

"I just do. It's kind of like my superpower." I laughed softly; superpowers. I was beginning to see where Henry got some of his imagination from. "I'm serious, Lindsey. I can tell when someone's lying."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly. "Alright, then - try me. I have every intention of going on the stupid blind date that Ruby's set up for me this Saturday." I knew this was true - after all, she'd gotten so excited after I agreed - but Emma probably wouldn't think so.

"True," Emma said simply. I was rightfully impressed. "Not bad, Sheriff Swan."

Just then, the pair of kids from earlier were walking around the corner when Emma said, "Now why did you two lie to me?"

* * *

"Ava and Nicholas Zimmer," Emma whispered to Mary Margaret and I, reading from a thick binder. "Their mother was Dory Zimmer - she died a few years ago."

"And a father?" I asked, also whispering. The twins themselves were sitting a mere ten feet away, at the dining table in Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment with bowls of mac-and-cheese.

"There isn't one - that they know of," Emma explained. I chewed on the inside of my lip, trying to hide how freaked out I really was. There were two twelve-year-olds, living on their own in an abandoned house, whose mother had died, and no one had even noticed? Looking at Ava, who seemed like the responsible one of the pair, I understood why she seemed so much older than she really was.

"What did social services say?" Mary Margaret asked. Emma looked at her, half guiltily and half defiantly. "You didn't report them."

"I report them, I can't help them," the blonde replied. I suppressed a sigh; this was not going to be easy. I was about as likely as Emma to report the twins to social services - after being involved in police work so much and seeing our mayoral system, I had never had much faith in any kind of government - but I still felt as though we needed to do something. Having no idea what that something was, however, put me at a distinct disadvantage to argue my point.

I walked over to the twins, who had been almost entirely silent except for 'pleases' and 'thank-you's'. They seemed like decent kids, actually. I took a seat across from Nicholas and next to Ava, who both stared at me in surprise.

"Um . . . hi." I began the conversation so awkwardly, I winced internally at myself.

"Hi," Ava said quietly, and her brother nodded at me.

There was another minute of silence, in which Emma and Mary Margaret's hushed debate grew ever louder. Ava had taken notice and was watching them; before I could do anything, she was up and walking over to the women, standing behind Emma. Her hands shook.

"You're going to separate us?" The girl looked heartbroken by this news, and I felt the sudden weight of guilt in my chest as I saw her brother's saddened expression as well.

"No," Emma said firmly, looking Ava in the eye. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that that doesn't happen, alright?"

A leaden feeling entered my stomach, and I knew then that Emma's promise wasn't something we could guarantee. It was the biggest lie I'd ever heard her say.

* * *

_"We didn't mean to trespass," the small blonde girl pleaded. "Please - we just lost our father."_

_"You hear that, Lady Scarlet?" Regina seemed to be enjoying this for too much for my liking. "A pair of orphans, lost and alone. A family torn asunder. How touching." I simply nodded, disgust threatening to show in my expression as I watched the Queen with the children._

_"Guards - seize them!" Regina suddenly ordered, and the girl yelled, "Hansel, run!" The boy sprinted away and the girl stood where she was, using a sling to send a stone into the nearest guard's face. Then she ran, too, and I couldn't help but be impressed by her bravery. _

_"Regina," I said, my mind racing desperately as I tried to think of a way to talk the Evil Queen down from murder. "Perhaps they could be useful. After all, the girl at least is brave enough to take on one of your own soldiers."_

_There was a moment of silence in which I felt a flash of panic, unable to see the Queen's face with her back facing me. Turning slowly, Regina stared at me in bewilderment; then a wicked grin stretched across her face and she vanished into thin air, taking me with her._

_As we touched down to the ground thirty feet from the carriage, in front of the two children, I tried to hide my queasiness. I despised teleporting, mostly because of how sick it made me. Rumplestiltskin was aware of this, but I didn't care with that man anymore: I'd given up hiding things from him long ago. But the fact that Regina knew irked me to no end, especially when she shot a smug smirk my way while I tried to keep from throwing up._

_"You are brave," she was saying to the girl in her usual haughty manner. That was another thing that frustrated me about Regina: her superiority complex. "If you do one task for me, I will help you find your father."_

_The girl, who was probably contemplating attacking the Queen herself to escape, froze, staring up at the pair of us with wide, shocked eyes. Her brother - Hansel, she'd called him - was watching us as well, although he didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation quite as much as his sister did._

_"Deal," the girl said, holding her hand out to shake Regina's. When the Queen simply looked as if the girl were attempting to hand her a dead cat, I shook the girl's hand and winked at her._

_"Good luck, kid." I glanced over at Regina, who was looking at me with an expression close to fury, and flashed her a mockingly sweet smile before saying, "Another time, your Highness." I stalked back to the carriage to retrieve the sword I'd left there, and on my way out I stopped the soldier who had grabbed the children. _

_"Bastard," I said, looking him dead in the eye. I didn't care if he didn't know what I was talking about; I just shoved off his helmet, revealing small hazel eyes and a scattering of freckles, and punched him in the face. Then I walked away, sheathing my sword and feeling quite satisfied with the ending of Regina's 'jaunt through the woods'._

* * *

Emma had needed information; I could provide. Feeling incredibly useful, I led the Sheriff into the public records building on Main street, walking straight into the back.

"What's up?" I asked the man behind the counter, who simply sighed exhaustedly at the very sight of me. My eyebrows drew together in confusion: I thought K liked me? Or was at least vaguely amused by me.

"We need to check out files on a few kids in town," I explained, while Emma stood at the back of the room. She was trying to read the nameplate on the counter, and K sighed again. He didn't seem to be in a great mood. "Everyone calls him K," I explained to Emma over my shoulder. She nodded absently.

"Naturally you know the nickname of the guy who keeps public records," she said quietly, looking exasperated. "Of course." I grinned at her and turned back to K.

"Ava and Nicholas Zimmer's files, pretty please?" K looked at me, his expression somber. "Are you not happy to see me, K?" I held a hand over my heart dramatically, looking hurt. "Your lack of happiness at my presence wounds me. I thought we were friends?" K simply shook his head and stood up, searching for the files.

"You know where the forms are," he said without looking at me, and I smirked, reaching over the counter to take the necessary application papers. But before I could fill out anything, K glanced over at Emma and I.

"I'm sorry, those records are no longer here."

I leaned my elbows on the counter, the familiar spark of curiosity lighting up the back of my mind. "And just who checked those records out, my dear K?"

Ten minutes later, Emma and I stood in Regina Mills' office, Emma watching her suspiciously while I attempted to discreetly scope the place out for future reference. After all, you never know when you'll have to break into a mayoral office to steal anything from a corrupt municipality official, right?

Regina was lamenting on information we already knew while I examined her locks from the corner of my eye. Not very complicated system, it might take me a minute or two to get through. That is, if I didn't just kick the door down - I'd gotten pretty apt at that recently.

"I contacted the state, and they put us in touch with two homes in Boston - a boys' home and a girls'." She walked over to a small table to pour herself a drink, and I quickly moved my gaze from the alarm on her wall.

"You're separating them?" I demanded, guilt returning to make my chest heavy. I knew Emma's promise would not be kept; I had known it was a dangerous thing to tell the twins.

"I don't like it either," Regina said, although I could see the malicious smile she had tried to hide.

"I doubt that," I muttered angrily.

"You have to have them in Boston tonight," Regina continued, ignoring my comment. Emma looked at her as if she'd gone insane. "This is part of being Sheriff, Miss Swan. These children need a home."

"No," Emma said, and I could see a few tears threatening to betray her. "I promised them they wouldn't be separated."

"Then perhaps you should stop making promises you can't keep."

* * *

"What're we going to do?"

I was sitting in the police station, staring at the clock on the wall, while Emma flipped through files at the desk. The clock was ticking incessantly, enough to make me want to rip it from the wall and smash it. Maybe I was going a little crazy.

Okay, a lot crazy.

"Find their father," Emma said simply, as she'd been saying to me for the past hour. It was nearly three thirty, and Regina had told her to have the twins in Boston by tonight. I was getting edgier by the minute, unable to stop moving: drumming my fingers on the desk, tapping my toes on the floor. At one point Emma had had to physically place my hands in my lap because I was on my sixth repetition of clapping the Cup Song without even realizing what I was doing.

"Lindsey? We'll find him," she reassured me and herself as Henry came rushing into the room, clutching his storybook.

"What's up, kid?" I glanced over his shoulder to see what page he was on: it had an illustration of two kids, a boy and a girl, running from a gingerbread house. I immediately knew where this was going and had to hide a laugh behind a small burst of coughing.

"Two kids, no parents, and they were stealing candy?" Henry looked as if we should've figured this out ages ago. "They're obviously Hansel and Gretel."

Emma and I exchanged a glance before the blonde asked, "It say anything in there about the dad?" I winked at her remark, and she tossed me a half-smile in response.

But it was such a Graham-ish thing to do that for a moment I was thrown head-first into painful nostalgia: Graham and I, sitting in that office, arguing over some stupid thing between sips of coffee from Granny's. My feet up on the desk, Graham chiding me and accidentally pushing me off of my chair, me laughing from the floor. Playing wastepaper basketball - we were always tied for first. Me, trying to explain CS Lewis or Jules Verne to him, while he just argued that Star Wars was the only classic fiction he'd ever need to know. Peering over his shoulder at the files, and always leaving sticky-notes in them with red ink to explain his mistakes in profiles. The pumpkin spice lattes that made my start of school worth it, but that he hated.

"Lindsey?" Emma and Henry were standing in the other room, looking excited.

"Lindsey, I have a lead. Come on, we have to go!" Emma was already hurrying out of the room, but I felt trapped in my nostalgia. Henry studied me for a moment before saying, "Are you okay?"

I felt tears sting my eyes and I pinched my wrist, desperately trying to stop them. "Um, yeah. Yeah, Henry, I'm fine. Thanks." I gave him a smile that felt so fake it almost hurt and ran after Emma, my nails digging into my arm as I tried to stall any kind of crying.

* * *

We were standing in Mary Margaret's apartment, Emma talking to Ava and Nicholas. Mary Margaret was sitting next to me on the stairwell, and I could feel her watching me out of her peripheral vision.

"I know you're wondering if I've gone mute or crazy," I said quietly, then let out a short laugh devoid of any humor. "Clearly it's the second option."

"No, you're not crazy - you're upset. Is it about the twins?" She was staring right at me now, and I swallowed nervously under her gaze. Caroline studying my outfit was one thing, but I hated when people tried to study my emotions.

"Why would it be about the twins?" I asked, again in the same hushed voice. It was as if I was afraid to speak any louder than a mumble.

"Well, just because their situation might be a bit, um, reminiscent of yours. I mean, how close their circumstances are to how yours could've, well -"

"Well, what?" I said, my voice still frustratingly quiet. "You think I'm too close to the case or something, like on those stupid cop shows? That their 'situation is reminiscent of mine', and that it scares the crap out of me because every time I look at that little girl over there I see me? That it doesn't make me wonder if she'll turn out as messed up as I did?" I was nearly gasping for air after this outburst, my breaths coming faster and shallower every second.

"No," Mary Margaret said quickly, looking a bit panicked. "No, Lindsey, I just meant -"

"That I'm upset because they might not get what I managed? That they don't have a Caroline Welles to swoop in and save the day, so they won't be nearly as lucky as I was? Because believe me, Mary Margaret, I've thought about all of this, all freaking day. And it's all true." I choked out the last word, feeling a sob rise in my throat. I pinched my wrist again, as hard as I could, but to no effect. I pressed my lips together: I would not cry. Not even in front of these people, who cared about me. No.

"I have to go to the washroom," I said shakily, stumbling to my feet. Mary Margaret nodded, pointing me in the right direction. Hurrying up the stairs, my steps uneven and barely controllable, I collapsed against the door the moment I entered the bathroom. Sliding down it and onto the cold tile floor, I let out a silent sob.

It was all too much at the moment: Graham's death, the unwanted trip down memory lane in the station, and now Mary Margaret's questions and my stupid outburst. I'd been a bitch, I knew that. I shouldn't have snapped at her, and felt a stab of guilt. But I couldn't go out to apologize - not yet.

Leaning against the door, I felt tears roll slowly down my face. My vision blurred for a moment as I cried, and soon after the actual sobs arrived. I pressed a small towel against my face, muffling them. I would not let anyone hear me cry - they had enough to worry about as it was.

After all of that, after the tears and the crying and the sadness that wracked my body, making my hands shake and my chest ache, I sat there, thinking.

What I'd said to Mary Margaret had been absolute truth: I'd been lucky. I was an orphan, but I'd never known my parents. I'd never had to lose them - not the way Ava and Nicholas had. I had Caroline, my mother's sister, who had taken me in when I was too young to remember a time without her. I'd always had Caroline, and probably always would. She was a mother to me in ways that some people still didn't understand. At first, people doubted her ability. She was young - barely twenty years old - when my parents vanished. But she was an old soul, Caroline, and she always told me that she knew she couldn't leave me to someone else. She sometimes said that I'd been like a gift to her from her sister: left on the doorstep of the brownstone that became my home. Our home.

I leaned my head back against the door, smiling faintly. Our awkward, tiny family, in our old, rundown home. That was my life, and God knows I would never trade it for anything.

But the twins might not be so lucky. I frowned, thinking about their father: if Emma really did find him . . . I shook my head, banishing the thought. That was a pipedream.

Standing carefully, I stared into the bathroom mirror: my face was shining with tear tracks, and my eyes were bloodshot, the blue in my eyes standing out vividly against the pink. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and wet the towel with freezing cold water, pressing it to my eyes. Soon, they were almost normal again. With a deep, shaky breath, I left the washroom and returned to the kitchen where Mary Margaret, Henry and the twins sat, looking anxious.

"Lindsey." The teacher breathed a sigh of relief as I came down the stairs, looking much calmer. I even managed to give her a small smile, walking over to the kitchen counter.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Ava looked at me and said hesitantly, "Sheriff Swan went to look for our father. She might know of a way to find him."

"Well, that's good news, right?" I said, a bit confused. Why did everyone in the room look as if they were on death row, if the Zimmers' father was about to be miraculously discovered in Storybrooke?

"She might not find him," Ava said, sounding one hyperventilation away from a panic attack. "Besides, Mayor Mills said we have to be in Boston by tonight, and then we'll be separated, and -"

I just shook my head at the girl. "No - believe me, Emma will not let you two be separated. There's no chance of that. And as for Regina . . . well, she can screw herself."

"Lindsey - language!" Mary Margaret chided, looking scandalized. I hid a laugh behind a cough and continued.

"Like I said, Regina doesn't control the universe, no matter how much she believes she does. And besides, if it ticks Madam Mayor off, you can be sure Emma's going to do it." I winked at the twins, and Ava looked a bit more calm.

Then I looked at Mary Margaret and said softly, "I'm sorry." She smiled and nodded in response.

Emma hurried into the apartment then, pulling Mary Margaret outside to 'talk' - she looked even more anxious than Ava. I followed them curiously, motioning for the twins and Henry to stay inside.

Outside the building, Emma explained the current situation, and I resisted the urge to go find Michael Tillman and beat him to a pulp. Then I smiled to myself: if I was back to contemplating violence immediately, then I was back to being me.

"What do you mean, he doesn't want them?" I demanded furiously. I felt as though I needed to argue on the twins' behalf. "How can he see that he's got kids, and just say 'whoops, not my problem'?"

"Lindsey," Mary Margaret said, attempting to calm me down. I shook my head, muttering, "What an ass."

Emma shrugged. "That's what happened. I can't tell them the truth, though - I promised them that they wouldn't be separated, and they definitely will be now."

"Emma, the truth can be painful, but it can also be cathartic," Mary Margaret said sagely. I bit my lip, hating to admit how true her words were. "You told Henry his father's dead, and he's taking it incredibly well."

Wait, what? I glanced over at Emma, who shook her head, silently pleading 'don't ask'. So I didn't - after all, Henry's parents were his business.

"His father's not dead," Emma said shortly. "He was anything but a hero, and trust me when I say he doesn't need to know the whole story. We could hide the kids, though - just until we find a family to take them in."

"Yes, because hiding the twelve-year-olds is a good plan!"

"It's not that bad. I know a couple spots." Both women looked at me, baffled, and I shrugged. "I had a bit of a runaway kick a few years ago - that was before the breaking-and-entering one." They continued staring at me, and I suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. "Or not, that could work, too."

"Sheriff," said a cold voice from behind the three of us. I glanced up, annoyed, to see Regina Mills striding towards us.

"Why aren't you on the interstate?"

I sighed in exasperation. "And why weren't you on the bloody Titanic? That would've made life easier for the rest of us."

"Hold your tongue, Miss Welles," she snapped, glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes. "No problem, Your Highness."

"Those kids need to be in Boston tonight, Miss Swan." Regina redirected her furious gaze towards Emma.

* * *

It took Regina several insults and threats, and two more hours to convince Emma to take the Zimmers to Boston. At that, I was eternally in awe of. Emma Swan, defender of the weak, taker of no shit. She would not abandon the twins to Mayor Mills' merciless barrage of attacks.

When finally she gave in, Ava and Nicholas were nearly in tears. I walked with them to the police car, as did Henry, who seemed especially defiant of his adoptive mother that night. He wouldn't look at her for a good ten minutes after she began her campaign to have the twins taken away. Now he simply ignored her.

We waved at them from outside the police car, where they sat in the backseat. I couldn't stop a tear before it fell, watching the two kids dragged away from their happy ending. I gave Regina a looked more venomous than a cobra, and walked over to Mary Margaret, who was hugging her jacket tighter around herself. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, just like Caroline always did, and I wrapped mine around her side as we walked back to her apartment.

"She did it!" Henry said excitedly as he stood next to me in Granny's that night. I glanced down at the kid, astonished that he was so happy, considering his newfound friends had just been taken away to Boston forever.

"What?"

"Emma! She got Ava and Nicholas' dad to come - he kept them! They're staying in Storybrooke." And suddenly I was smiling too, grinning hugely into my cup of tea as Henry picked up a dessert box full of pumpkin pie from Ruby.

"Are you going to see Emma?" I asked, and he nodded. "Mind if I come? I just want to congratulate her." And maybe see someone who understands just why I was so upset about this case. Why I needed it to work out for the Zimmers.

"Sure!" Henry said. And that is how I wound up chasing after a hyperactive ten-year-old to see Emma Swan.

She was sitting in the police car, which she had parked on the side of the road. Henry scurried up to the window and tapped on the glass. She opened the door and he said, "I brought you some pumpkin pie! It was pumpkin, right?"

Emma smiled, although it seemed a little forced, and said, "Yeah. Uh, listen, kid -" She climbed out of the car, walking around the side to see Henry.

"About your dad," she began.

"Yeah?" He was smiling at just the mention of his dad, and Emma looked as if she were arguing with herself over something.

"I'm glad I told you," she whispered, and Henry wrapped his arms around her middle in a hug. She hugged him back and we exchanged a brief glance, but that was all I needed to confirm my suspicion: that this was what Mary Margaret had been referring to earlier.

"What you did, with Ava and Nicholas," Henry said. "You really are changing things."

"For the better," I added. "That's why I came: congrats on beating the Evil Queen again!" Both Emma and Henry looked at each other, than at me, and laughed. I tilted my head curiously. "What's so funny? Seriously, I don't - I don't get it."

They were still laughing when a motorcycle came roaring down the street, its driver someone I couldn't quite make out with the streetlamps. It came to a stop across the road from us and the driver climbed off it, taking off his helmet and walking over.

"Is this Storybrooke?"

I nodded, and the stranger continued, running a gloved hand through his auburn hair. "Any place I can get a room around here?"

Henry gaped at him, bewildered. "You're - you're staying?"

"That's the plan," he agreed, smiling. Even his smile looked as if he were hiding a secret.

"Granny's bed and breakfast is just up the road," Emma said, gesturing in the direction. I gave the stranger a brief once-over and smirked to myself: Ruby was going to have fun when he walked into the diner tonight.

As he walked away, Emma called, "I didn't catch your name!"

"That's 'cause I didn't throw it!" The man got back on his bike and headed off to the bed and breakfast while Emma, Henry and I stood there for a moment, watching.

"I thought you said strangers didn't come to Storybrooke," Emma chided Henry, who was still a bit in shock.

"That's because they don't," I said, staring after the mysterious stranger.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, this chapter had a small mental breakdown in it - and not least because I was having a small mental breakdown at four am when I wrote that part. :) I didn't want to immediately ignore Graham's death or the effect it had on Lindsey, mostly because he was really close to her, and also because that was the one thing I disagreed with in the show: Emma and Regina were both pretty close to Graham, but after another episode they never talked about him again. :( **

**Hope you all liked this chapter! :D Favourite if you liked this story, follow if you want to keep reading, and review if you want to say anything about this fic. Thanks again! ;)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	10. George the Tyrannical Cheater

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters. :) **

* * *

"Yesterday we finished the unit concerning the human respiratory system. Today, however, we will begin studying the human skeletal system. Would everyone please turn to page three hundred and ninety four . . ."

My instructor droned on from the front of the classroom, but my attention was otherwise diverted to the window I sat next to. Glancing outside, I watched from the third story of the high school as Archie Hopper walked his Dalmatian, Pongo, across the schoolyard towards the park. I let out a small sigh as I flipped to the correct page in my textbook.

After so long out of school - although my inability to sleep often enough and my hyperactive brain helped me keep my grades half-decent - Caroline had insisted that I attend more regularly. So there I was, sitting in my Biology II class, glaring at the textbook's information.

"Miss Welles, you're present for a change," my teacher said, and I raised an eyebrow at the thin, balding man before me; he looked a bit like a rodent. "Perhaps you could explain to us what the text says about the human skull?"

I shrugged. "I don't see that there would be much point in that, considering the text's explanation is rudimentary at best."

My instructor looked horrified that I had insulted his precious textbook. "Excuse me?"

I nodded, continuing. "For example, it simply states that the skull is part of the axial skeleton and that it consists of twenty-two bones. It doesn't mention the fact that there are neurocranium and viscerocranium bones, or that eight bones belong to the former category, including the occipital bone and the temporal bones, or that fourteen bones belong to the latter category, including the palatine bones and lacrimal bones."

My instructor stood there for a long moment, blinking down at me. I simply sat there, completely nonchalant. Well aware of fast-approaching finals, I had spent the past week and a half catching up on my studies. The night before last I had spent five hours memorizing the bones of the human anatomy, and relished in my ability to stun a teacher into silence with my extensive knowledge. IQ points were the only thing I had going for me - I was certain that I would cling to them with my dying breath.

After this, I was yelled at for a few minutes before my teacher returned to reading aloud from the textbook that I ignored. After Biology II I had Civics, and was tortured with an hour and ten minutes of politicians that were all either liars or idiots, or sometimes both.

"I've had enough of this school thing," I muttered to myself as I walked down the hallway after Civics, completely ignoring my impending English class and sneaking out of the high school's back door.

I had to take a break and see Ruby.

* * *

_My heart hammering in my chest, I took a deep breath and leapt into the open window. I could still feel the invisibility potion fading throughout my body, and I already missed the feeling: the feeling that was as if ichor ran through my veins instead of blood. That was what magic always felt like to me, which both amazed me and terrified me. It was pure bliss, having so much power at your fingertips, which was why it was so addictive._

_I was leaping through the open window of Rumplestiltskin's castle, right into his treasury. I loved the Dark One's castle, despite its horrific reputation. Rumplestiltskin may have been a psychotic mass murderer, but he had an incredible collection of artifacts._

_I immediately ran to a pair of silver katanas mounted on a wall, and studied the carvings that ran up the length of the hilts in awe. I recognized them to be from a fairly far-off land that Mulan, a warrior I'd once encountered, was from. I had only journeyed there once, but had never come across such amazing craftsmanship._

_I heard a cough from behind me, and I whirled around to find Rumple standing in the middle of the room, watching me with something like derision._

_"You're in the Dark One's castle, in a room full of jewels and silks and, well, lady-like treasures - and you run straight for the nearest weapon. Sometimes I forget that 'Lady' is simply your nickname." I shot him a quick glare before backing up to the still-open window._

_"Now the real question is why you're here."_

_He flicked his wrist and the window behind me slammed shut. I sprinted for the door, but it also closed right in my face. I tugged on the handle, but it was useless - magic had sealed it shut. Turning around to face the Dark One, I unsheathed a pair of knives and prepared to fight him._

_"No, dearie," he chided, and snapped his fingers. My knives vanished in puffs of green smoke, and I drew my sword. That, too, soon disappeared. "I want to know why you're here!" _

_I back away as Rumple pushed his hand through the air once more, anticipating my death. Instead, ropes wrapped themselves around me, binding my arms to my sides. I struggled within the bonds, and managed to pull a small knife from inside my trousers._

_"Why are you here?" The demon stepped forward, looking both angry and curious. "Were you here to steal something? From_ me_?!" I quickly shook my head, a bit terrified. Rumplestiltskin, overlord of evil and dark magic, had me cornered in his own castle. I was dead._

_Then I felt the invisibility potion - or the remains of it, anyway - fade entirely from me, turning me from transparent to completely solid. I narrowed my eyes in an icy glare that matched Rumple's as I remembered something incredibly important: He wasn't the only one with magic. Concentrating as hard as I could, I willed it to happen. Willed the emotions to rise up in me, to help me. Willing them to, for once, not betray me._

_As the Dark One opened his mouth to speak again, the ropes that bound me turned to ice: pure, fragile ice, that I shattered with one swift movement. I had my tiny knife out, and whipped it at Rumple, who disappeared. He reappeared beside me, looking amused. _

_"Nice trick, Lady Scarlet. But how are you -" He was cut off abruptly as I leveled a broadsword with his throat._

_"I'm here to find a weapon," I said quietly, intensely. I needed Rumple to understand the gravity of the situation: that I was willing to kill. "I'm here for the bow."_

_He feigned ignorance. "I've no idea what you mean. What bow?" But I could hear the current beneath his voice - the fury, ready to leap to the surface given a moment's notice. He knew exactly what bow I was talking about._

_Keeping the blade at his neck, I slowly glanced around the treasury, searching for the weapon I'd come for, and was beginning to worry it wasn't in the room when I spotted it: the bow hanging on the far wall. The bow that could hit any target._

_Carefully, making sure to nick Rumple on my way, I moved my sword away from him and sprinted for the bow, plucking it off of the wall. I spun around, but the Dark One had vanished, and I was not vain enough to believe it was because of me. He had other things to do, other people to con. _

_In a state of shell-shock, I clambered out of the window of the Dark One's castle, sliding down the roof and easily dropping down to the ground twenty feet below. I walked back towards the vast forest beyond the castle's walls, wading through the thick banks of fog._

* * *

I was hurrying down the street, my jacket buttoned up against the cold wind, headed towards Granny's when I spotted Emma hauling things into the back of the police car and talking to Regina Mills.

"Hey, Emma," I said, walking over to lean against the side of the patrol car.

Regina glared at me. "Don't you have school to go to?"

I shrugged, picking at a loose thread on my glove. "I'm caught up enough - besides, I don't want to be surrounded by idiots. My Biology II teacher didn't even know the difference between the lacrimal and palatine bones." When she and Emma both looked at me in confusion, I sighed. "Does no one in this town read anymore?"

Regina shook her head, as if clearing all thoughts of my Biology II teacher's incompetence from her mind, before saying to the Sheriff, "I need you to investigate him a bit. There's something about him . . . something familiar."

"He must be one of the untold millions you cursed," Emma said jokingly.

"What?"

"Oh, you know, Henry's whole thing. The curse?" I was a bit baffled that Regina hadn't made that connection - she was always going on about how close she and Henry were. "And anyway, as hard as you try to find one in my case, there is no law against visiting Storybrooke." My confusion cleared as I realized they were discussing the stranger who'd driven into town a few days before.

"You'll do this because he was taking a particular interest in the one thing we both care about: Henry." And with that, the mayor stalked off, looking disdainfully at Mrs Caulfield, who waved at her warmly from the front of her antiques shop.

"I'm going to meet Ruby, if you want to come. There might be hot chocolate with cinnamon . . ." I sang, gesturing towards Granny's.

Emma raised her eyebrows at me. "Gotta pass, kid. But are you ever in school?"

I grinned wickedly in response and turned around, marching straight into Granny's with the desperate need to talk with Ruby over a cup of tea.

Pulling myself up onto my usual spot at the counter, I flashed Ruby a smile as she leaned over and said, "Tea, I assume?"

As she passed me the mug she stood there for a minute or two, watching me take a careful sip. Then, when I could no longer take her restrained silence, I said, "Go ahead; ask." I'd gone on her stupid blind coffee date last Saturday, and I still hadn't told her about it.

"So, how was it?" Ruby went into full best-friend mode. "Did you like him? Did he like you? Was he lying about anything this time? Do you think he's cute? How long were you two out? Has he kissed you yet? Where did you go? Did you have fun? Did you have tea, or one of those pumpkin latte things that scared him off last time?"

I held up a hand to stem the flow of questions and Ruby immediately slipped into an excited silence, her bright red lips smiling broadly. "Here we go . . ." I muttered under my breath, then answered her. "Let me see . . . okay, kind of, probably not, yes, a bit, two hours, not even close, that cafe place on Somerset, not really, and no one is making me ignore pumpkin spice lattes when I only have a month and a half to drink as many as possible."

Ruby seemed happy enough with my answers, but had more questions for me. "What was he like this time? I mean, what did he lie about?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well . . . he was nice enough. Kind of obnoxious, though - that's why I didn't like him before - but he wasn't as much of an ass, so there's that. But . . . well, he lied about last time. He told me it was great, and that was a total lie. Then he told me I looked pretty, which was also a lie." Ruby winched sympathetically, and I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. He still has stupid hair."

She laughed softly, and I propped my elbows up on the counter, resting my chin in my hands. "It could've been worse, but it could've been way better."

Then I caught the notes playing from the diner's old-fashioned stereo, and wrinkled my nose. "Seriously, Ruby? Sounds of Storybrooke?" She shrugged indifferently and went to change the station, probably to something less horrendous. 'Sounds of Storybrooke' was our town's one and only local radio station, which means the only one with decent reception. However, their music selection was horrific.

"It's not that bad," Ruby said, a bit defensively. She'd gone out with the station's manager at one point: a gangly, blue-eyed guy named Stefan.

"Ruby," I said, dead serious. "They once played the Jefferson Starships, Nickelback and 98 Degrees - all in the same fifteen minutes. It was worse than bad - it was physically painful." Ruby rolled her eyes; I was constantly complaining about 'Sounds of Storybrooke'.

"Well, I put something decent in, so calm yourself," she chided, and I took a long drink of tea as the first bars of a Pink Floyd song filtered through the stereo's speakers. I smiled delightedly and Ruby laughed, walking off to clear off a table.

"You know what," I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible when she came back. "I've reopened the Nolan Trap."

Ruby seemed so surprised that she actually dropped her dishtowel. "What? You mean that case that isn't really a case, and only exists inside your active imagination?"

"That's the one. I was thinking about checking out the Nolans' place later today - maybe see if I can get any further in my investigation before Madam Mayor interrupts me again."

"Lindsey, you can't just break into other peoples' homes to investigate them because you think they might be psychopaths. I'm pretty sure that just makes you some kind of psychopath, actually." Ruby seemed genuinely worried for me - or rather my mental stability - but before she could say anything else, I had spotted him: mysterious bike guy, sitting by himself at a booth in the corner of the diner.

I slowly slid off my barstool. "I'll be right back . . ." Ruby looked as if she'd like to argue, but I kept walking towards the stranger's booth. I slipped into the seat across from him, and he looked mildly surprised to see me sitting there.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"I think so, actually. See, I was a bit curious as to why someone as . . . _enigmatic _as yourself would be visiting a town as uninteresting as ours." I tried to keep the question in my voice clear: Why are you here?

The stranger leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingertips along the side of his coffee mug. "This town isn't nearly as uninteresting as you seem to think it is."

"Hmm . . . really. Is there any chance I could get your name? I work for the police department," I added for good measure, fairly certain that he wouldn't know about my completed internship.

"Bit young to work for the police, aren't you?"

"That wasn't an answer."

"No, I don't think it was." He was smiling now, a frustrating smile that proved to me that he was avoiding giving me his name. In fact, he hadn't really answered any of my questions.

"You're avoiding the questions."

"Am I?" The stranger planted his elbows on the table, pressing his fingers together. "We both seem to have quite the number of questions, though, and it wouldn't be all that fair if only you got answers. I'd like a few as well."

I raised an eyebrow at this odd request - had he not heard the 'I work for the police' part? But instead of arguing I nodded, hoping I could turn this around in my favour. The stranger's smile widened, and he placed his gloves flat on the table.

"Why don't I guess something about you, you guess something about me, and we confirm or deny. You see, I'm a fan of investigating, as well. It'll be a bit like a game, actually."

I bit my lip, intrigued by this suggestion. A guessing game? The spark of interest was still burning in my mind, and I quickly remembered everything I'd ever learned about profiling from Criminal Minds and Sherlock. I had to know everything - which is how I found myself nodding in agreement.

"Ladies first," he joked, and I tilted my head, studying him for a moment.

"Running from someone?" I ventured hesitantly.

He shook his head. "More like running _to _someone - or something. I'm here to write."

I raised my eyebrows at this revelation: a writer? That was unexpected . . . and, admittedly, kind of hot. "Interesting . . . your turn, mysterious writer guy."

He smirked. "Right. You don't actually work for the police department, do you?"

I shrugged. "Kind of. I'm technically an intern, but I might as well work there. My turn, I believe. You're not American."

"That's one way of putting it . . . You're incredibly suspicious of everyone."

"True - only because everyone has secrets. For example, you're mysterious because you have to be, not because you want to be - you can't trust people because you have too many secrets."

"Not too many secrets - just a few important ones. Were you always this precocious?"

I shrugged. "My aunt likes to think so. You're taking my questions seriously - why?"

"Why not?"

This cut me off abruptly, and I sat there for a long moment of bewilderment. No adult in Storybrooke aside from Graham, Caroline and Mary Margaret, had ever taken me seriously. Not my investigations, not my theories, not even my intelligence. But here was this guy, a total stranger, talking to me as if I were a rational adult. It gave me a bit of hope for human society.

"And were you also always this impertinent?"

This jarred me back to reality and I matched his cool gaze with my own. "I prefer incessantly curious, but I have gotten that before."

He grinned, and said, "Satisfied yet, intern to the small town police department?"

I shook my head. "Not even close. Have you figured out that name yet?"

His smile faltered and he leaned over the table. "That depends: can I have yours?" I hesitated, glancing over the stranger once again. He didn't seem particularly threatening - of course, neither had Norman Bates - and I took a deep breath before saying, "Lindsey."

"August," he replied smoothly. I raised an eyebrow; August?

"Interesting name," I ventured carefully.

"I'm an interesting person."

"I'm sure you are." I could see Ruby waving me over, and noticed Emma walking inside the diner, shaking rainwater off of her hat. She spotted me sitting with mysterious writer guy and strode over.

"I - I have to go," I said, standing up from the booth. August watched me with an amused smirk, and I was tempted to smack it off of his face. However, I managed to contain my anger and pushed myself back up onto the barstool at the counter where Ruby was waiting, a second cup of tea ready.

"Linds, you cannot break and enter into Kathryn Nolan's house. I've already figured out a list of reasons why you shouldn't, but I'll only bring that up if worse comes to worse." She stopped her small tirade as she noticed my expression of shock, and her reproach melted into concern. "Lindsey? You okay?"

I shrugged, slowly spinning the tea mug around on the counter, staring blankly at it. Suddenly, I was staring down at a group of people in a huge ballroom, all of them partnered and twirling around expertly, the women's gowns sweeping the floor.

"Lindsey?"

I blinked, disoriented, as Ruby snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Hello? Lindsey?"

"I'm fine," I said quietly; my heart pounding against my ribcage, I stood, pushing the cup of tea back towards Ruby before placing a few coins on the counter. "I have to go."

"Wait - Lindsey!" Ruby called after me as I hurried out of the diner, right into the raging thunderstorm.

* * *

_I was scaling the wall of King George's palace, with Rumplestiltskin's enchanted bow slung across my back and a full quiver, and I was seriously regretting a few of my life choices. I winced as I clung to the stone wall, my fingers gripping the pockets between the bricks with as much force as possible._

_The last of my invisibility potion used up retrieving the weapon I carried, I had had no choice but to sneak into the castle the mundane way. I reached up for the window that was just above me, hoping to every deity in existence that I wouldn't fall - a fifty foot drop onto solid cobblestones was presumably fatal._

_After a few minutes of muttered curses and excruciating climbing, I tumbled painfully onto the floor of King George's palace, rolling into a crouch. After determining that I didn't have to kill anyone quite yet, I stood and made my way through the seemingly endless hallways. _

_After the third turn, a trio of soldiers stood as if waiting for me. The tallest raised his broadsword, but with a flash of silver, one of my knives was already embedded in his chest. One. I kicked another's hand, the grip of his crossbow loosened enough for me to kick it out of his grasp. My other dagger impaled his stomach and he crumpled against the wall, yelling. Two. The last soldier turned to run, but I pulled Rumple's bow off of my back and had an arrow in his head before he could turn the corner. Three. _

_I was stopped twice more by George's guards: soon it became a violet rhythm. An arrow to the back. Four. A dagger to the chest. Five. A slash across the throat, from one of their own swords. Six. The bodies began to pile up. Seven. Eight. Nine. _

_Creeping down the next corridor, I discovered the staircase that led all the way up to the king's chambers. But before I could even consider exploring the stairwell, footsteps came echoing down it. I ducked behind a vast tapestry depicting the king's family that I was tempted to set fire to, I peered around the folds of thick fabric to watch King George himself striding down the steps, accompanied by several soldiers. _

_I bit my lip, frustrated. Of course there were soldiers with him; the king was paranoid and incapable of wielding a weapon well enough to defend himself. Naturally there needed to be a platoon of armed soldiers to follow him around and protect His Majesty._

_Tip-toeing after the group, I followed them down the stairwell, which led to the palace's courtyards. With a wicked grin and a rush of regained confidence, I sprinted back up the steps and towards the nearest turret. _

_"What the -?" The guard didn't even have the chance to finish his sentence before I pitched one of my daggers forward; it caught him in the throat and he collapsed. Ten. _

_Hurrying towards the edge of the turret, I peered down into the dimly lit courtyard; everything was a bit fuzzy in the shadows, like small smudges of color. As my eyes adjusted, I narrowed them to focus on the various figures moving about. I could see a body on the ground, someone kneeling next to it. A series of silver-clad soldiers. And there was King George, draped in a scarlet robe and jewels. _

_I notched an arrow, taking my time in aiming. My target looked as calm as ever; I smiled to myself at how surprised he would be when an arrow pierced his heart. Hopefully he wouldn't die instantly - it would be a waste of an opportunity. He needed to be punished, to feel pain before he died. _

_George was being his usual self - which means that he was being a vindictive tyrant - and gesturing to the person kneeling over the body. One of his guards walked over to them, holding a sword to their neck. I shook my head silently as I took my aim at the king's heart: no one else was going to die because of him. _

_I let the arrow fly, and it zipped through the air, embedding itself not in George's chest, but the soldier's. My eyebrows drew together in confusion: I hadn't aimed at him. Looking down at Rumple's bow, I frowned. This was it; this was the bow that never missed its target. I glanced down at the courtyard scene again: George was fine, although the soldier I'd hit was laying on the cobblestones, dead. _

_"What the fuck?" I muttered, completely taken aback. I'd wasted the last of my invisibility potion, nearly been murdered by Rumplestiltskin, scaled a freaking castle wall, and killed ten guards just for the bow that never misses its target to miss its target?! _

_"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I notched another arrow, this time making sure to aim properly - right for George's head. I let the arrow loose again, and this time it struck down another guard. "What?!"_

_"Do you think King George a fool?" I whirled around, finding myself face-to-face with a guard; he had his blade leveled with my head. "He has had that robe enchanted to deflect magic." I clenched my teeth in frustration - that was definitely cheating, as far as I was concerned. _

_"No, not a fool - just an idiotic tyrant." The soldier pressed his sword against my throat, and I laughed softly. "Are you really thick enough to challenge me?" The guard swallowed nervously, but continued to hold his ground._

_"And who exactly are you?"_

_I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Trust me, darling, you know me. Now put the sword down before you make things worse for yourself."_

_The soldier kept the broadsword next to my neck. "No. You don't frighten me, little girl." He sneered, gaining confidence. "You've lost."_

_The soldier blanched, however, as I glared furiously at him, a look that even Rumple had said seemed a bit intimidating. "I am Lady Scarlet, and I - do not - _lose_." And with that, I ducked away from his broadsword, sending an arrow into his head. Being in such close-range, I was spattered with the dead soldier's blood. I glanced down at my front in disdain before wiping a few beads of crimson from my face. Thirteen. _

_I turned back to the courtyard, glaring down at George. A young girl now held a blazing torch over a bale of hay, and she was speaking to the king. After a moment, the girl was grabbed from behind and the torch taken from her, while the man kneeling over the body stood up and fled._

_"Damn it, George," I whispered, watching the king. "I'll kill you eventually." And with that, I fled the palace as quickly as the escaped prisoner had. _

* * *

I was stumbling blindly through the rain, headed - well, I wasn't sure where. Through the thick sheets of silvery rainwater, I couldn't be certain where I was. I could only make out the ground beneath my feet, which had long-since shifted from sidewalk to gravelly road. I might've left town, actually: the silhouettes of the forest surrounded me on either side.

After ten minutes, I was lost. After fifteen, I sat down.

I sat there, just in the middle of what I thought was a road. I was incredibly wet, the rainwater having soaked through my jacket and jeans, straight through my tee shirt and even my undershirt felt damp. I was chilled to the bone, shivering uncontrollably. But it didn't matter - none of that mattered, considering I was losing my mind.

Not telling Caroline how bad my nightmares were becoming was one thing; but neglecting to explain to my only parental figure that I was having vivid hallucinations during my waking hours? That was an entirely different thing altogether.

I had been seeing things since leaving Granny's: shadows that looked like people following me, watching me; footsteps that weren't there, screams that dissipated into the frigid air. I'd looked down at my hands several times now and thought I'd been holding a knife. Twice I'd seen myself covered in blood, once I had spotted an imaginary corpse. Terrified, I hugged my knees to my chest like I'd done since I was a little kid when I was scared - folding in on myself so that the monsters couldn't see me.

I stayed sitting there until the rain stopped and the sun danced back into the sky. Birds chirped, and everything seemed perfectly normal - everything except me. I was going insane, and it petrified me.

Hearing a car come driving down the road, I scampered to the side of the road, trying to ignore how uncomfortable my wet clothes were. The car swerved to a stop and Mary Margaret looked out of the window at me.

"Lindsey? What are you doing out here? Come on, I'll drive you home." I slowly clambered into the teacher's car, and she soon pulled over at the curb outside my small brownstone. Caroline was probably already inside, having no idea that her niece was completely crazy.

"Lindsey," Mary Margaret began, but noticed the expression of numb terror on my face and stopped herself. She'd known me for ages, at least as neighbors; she knew not to push any questions.

"Tell Caroline I said hi," she amended. I nodded silently and climbed out of her car, walking clumsily up the front steps.

Not saying a word as I went inside, I hurried into my bedroom, closing the door firmly behind me. Peeling off my soaked clothes, I pulled on a warm sweater and pajama pants before climbing into my bed. I picked up my iPod from within the blankets, put in my headphones, and soon enough the opening bars of Ellie Goulding's 'All I Want' began playing.

I drifted off to sleep eventually, hoping that maybe if the dreams were around when I was awake, now I might finally get some sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, to recap: Lindsey's planning to investigate Kathryn Nolan some more, August was sarcastic, Maeve can do a bit of magic, King George is a tyrannical cheater and our main character's gone insane. Right then. **

**So, as I'm writing this before editing, all I can say is that I really hope it's a lot better after editing, because right now the flashbacks suck. ;D Sorry about that. Also sorry about the scene at school - it's just that, considering Lindsey is enrolled, I figured it was unrealistic to have her never be there. Also, Maeve has magic! This will actually be explained in depth later on - probably in season two a lot - but since I haven't mentioned it yet, I figured having it in a few of the earlier flashbacks would be important. So, there you go. :) And bonus points go to anyone who can find the Harry Potter reference in this chapter! :D I couldn't resist. **

**A huge thank you to the wonderful people reading this fic, because you're all amazing. :) Favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more and review if you have anything to say! :) I'll post again ASAP, my lovelies. **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	11. Fruits of the Poisonous Tree

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its amazing-ness. :)**

* * *

Between bites of muffin, I listened to Ruby read aloud her 'List of Reasons Why Lindsey Shouldn't Break Into Kathryn Nolan's House to Investigate Her For Potential Identity Fraud' off a sheet of paper.

"And, reason number twenty-eight: If you do this, and wind up in jail, then you won't be able to come to that huge upcoming party with me, and that would be a travesty." She glanced up at me, looking satisfied. "Have I convinced you yet?"

I paused for a moment, thinking. "Hmm . . . I was thinking about doing it this afternoon."

Ruby sighed in frustration, throwing her hands up. "Let it be said that I tried, alright? I am not backing you on this one, Linds. It's insanity." At the word 'insanity' I stiffened a bit, fear flashing through my mind before I relaxed.

I hadn't told anyone about my hallucinations, the same way I hadn't stressed anyone about my nightmares. Caroline only knew that I'd gotten a bit lost walking home the other day, and didn't know that I was seeing things or hearing things that didn't exist. Ruby was even more oblivious than Caroline. The only person who seemed to have realized that something was seriously wrong with me was Mary Margaret, and I had avoided talking to her for the past few days.

The woman in question was sitting across from Emma at a nearby table, and suddenly stood and rushed out of the diner. She only gave me a brief glance, and it wasn't threatening: it was a bit worried. That was my problem with Mary Margaret's knowing about my craziness - she was always worried, always concerned, and if I didn't want Caroline worried, then I sure as hell didn't want Mary Margaret worried.

As soon as the teacher vanished from Granny's, Sidney Glass took up her seat in front of Emma, a tumbler of whiskey in one hand as he said something to the blonde, who looked surprised to see the ex-reporter. Sidney was drunk - as he had been in a perpetual state of for the past week or two - and he was whispering things conspiratorially across the table to Emma.

It was how secretive the man was being that made me walk over to the pair: insane or not, I was still as curious as ever. When I reached the table, Sidney was saying something about 'exposing her for who she really is'. He then handed Emma what appeared to be a business card and the Sheriff took it reluctantly, tucking it in her jacket pocket before standing and making her way out of the diner.

I followed her, wincing as the bitterly cold November wind stung my cheeks. "Hey, Emma!" I jogged to catch up to her, and said, "So, Sidney was looking pretty suspicious today." She gave me a sidelong glance before sighing.

"Fine. He wanted me to help him expose Regina for being the evil bitch we all know her to be." My eyebrows flew to my hairline: Sidney, working against Regina? That was going to change some of my profiling notes drastically . . .

"He wanted your help, then?" Emma nodded. "What did you say?"

"I said no, Lindsey," she replied, climbing into the police car. "I was told to meet Henry at the castle. You coming or not?" Without hesitation, I slipped into the passenger seat.

* * *

_"The greatest gift of all: my beautiful daughter, Snow." _

_I resisted the urge to gag as King Leopold pulled his daughter onto his throne's platform, appraising her. Snow White I could sometimes deal with, but her father? Everything that came out of that man's mouth was driveling sentiment. _

_Standing in the back of his court, I was disguised in a simple pale blue gown that I had conjured up rather last-minute. Sneaking into the King's birthday celebration would take some effort, after all. _

_It wasn't as if I were there to kill him, though - I was there to kill a member of his court: a tall, balding man named Percival who I despised. My latest client had requested that I bring back his severed head, and I was perfectly willing to comply. However, I hadn't known that this job would involve wearing a dress._

_The only person who sat further back in the room than I did was the queen, Regina, who looked upset about his praise of Snow; I understood. After all, prattling on about how gorgeous your previous wife was is the kind of thing a complete moron does. Regina stood and left the court in a hurry, and, although she probably wanted solitude, a bearded man in exotic and jeweled clothes followed after her._

_Several hours later, my impatience growing with every minute, the celebration was drawing to a close. I spotted my target across the room, dancing with Snow White; he was looking down at the young princess in such a way that removed all remorse I might've had about killing him. Trailing after the man while he left the ballroom, I waited in the gardens. As he appeared before me, I had my dagger through his throat before he could scream. He crumpled to the ground, dead. I removed the knife and, though it took a little while, I managed to comply with my client's grisly detail._

_Wrapping Percival's head inside a thick shawl I'd worn, I began walking out of the king's summer palace, towards the gates. I'd already discarded my gown, using the folds of fabric to wipe the blood from my face and hands, and stood before the guards in nothing but my chemise and heels. One of them, bless his innocent soul, looked the other way when I arrived. _

_That was when I spotted him: the exotically-dressed stranger, speaking with Regina. That was also when I realized why he seemed so unusual - he was a genie. Only a genie would be as unknown yet jewel-encrusted as he was. _

_A pang of elation went through me. A genie, right there in the king's summer palace! It was as if the universe was actually on my side for a change. _

_"Miss?" The guard who had his head turned was talking. "Miss, where are your clothes?"_

_"I don't think I need them at the moment," I said nonchalantly, setting Percival's head down on the ground. Both guards now stared at me as I advanced, wielding my daggers. "Do you?"_

_The one soldier moved to attack but I struck first, sending one blade through his skull. He collapsed, killed instantly. The other guard looked at me in my underclothes, then at my remaining knife, then at his dead partner, and bolted. _

_"Didn't think so," I muttered, picking up Percival's head again. "Now . . . for that genie."_

* * *

I had my hairpin inside the lock of the Nolans' backdoor, and was quickly picking it before anyone could notice me. I had timed it perfectly: Kathryn was out with her friends, and David was supposed to be working a last-minute shift at the animal shelter. No one was home.

Perfect for a midday break-in.

The tumblers inside the lock clicked, and I hurried inside, shutting the door swiftly behind me. I was standing in a mudroom, and, refusing to turn on any lights, I crept warily into the room beyond that, which appeared to be the kitchen.

Having checked that out during David's welcome-home party, I decided against another sweep and tip-toed up the carpeted stairs, towards the bedroom.

Inside, I silently opened the drawers: their content was essentially the same. Women's shirts on one side, men's on the other. The same system for the next drawer with pants. A few dresses and skirts hung in the closet. The photographs were re-examined, and I reluctantly admitted to myself that they were not very suspicious.

Scurrying down the hallway and into what seemed to be a laundry room, I glanced around; presumably, if someone were to hide their secret shrine to their loved one or even a collection of surveillance-type photos, they would hide it with storage. Where no one ever checks.

I lifted up a pile of folded shirts, revealing nothing. I searched through a laundry basket, the tops of the washer and dryer. Nothing. Frowning, I did a quick three-sixty of the room. It was completely normal. In fact, everything about the Nolans' house was almost suspiciously normal. Then I remembered Ruby: _"You're paranoid, Linds."_ Maybe I was just crazy; I had myself convinced that everything about this was dubious, that Kathryn was not to be trusted. But I was the lunatic, after all.

A floorboard creaked somewhere below me, and I sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. Ducking behind the door, I pressed as far into the shadows as I possibly could while footsteps made their way up the stairs. Heart beating violently against my ribcage, I listened as someone stood at the top of the staircase; then they retreated back down to the kitchen.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as the front door slammed shut. I tip-toed carefully out of the laundry room, back down the stairs and out through the backdoor.

* * *

I walked into the police station the next day, exhausted. The hallucinations had not taken away the nightmares, as I had so naively hoped. If anything, they had gotten worse.

"Morning, Emma," I said quietly, clutching a paper cup of hot tea from Granny's. Ruby had noticed my tiredness and added extra sugar to keep me from collapsing on my way to the station.

"Lindsey," she said. After watching Henry's castle torn down the day before, she had decided to team up with Sidney to take down Regina. While I had approved - and still did, to a certain degree - searching the Nolans' place had seemed far more important to me. Now I was regretting not coming as Emma caught me up on their case.

"You planted a bug in Regina's office?" I asked, shocked. Emma looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, my God - I am so proud of you!" I grinned and hugged her, which probably surprised me far more than Emma. The blonde looked baffled as I pulled away from her and sat down on the other side of Sidney Glass, who had headphones on and was listening to a transmitter she'd left in Regina's office. "Emma Swan, planting bugs and taking down corrupt governments. You need an award or something."

Just then Sidney played one of the transmits aloud for us: Regina talking about meeting someone with the rest of their payment in the woods. I glanced at the pair before saying, "Well that was undeniably suspicious."

"A pay-off using stolen city funds," Sidney added, looking delighted.

And, I'll admit, I was pretty delighted as well.

* * *

I had missed out.

Emma had driven me home before she and Sidney had gone to intercept Regina's pay-off. Her argument was that I had school the next day; my argument was that I wasn't going to go anyway. In the end, Caroline had come outside and asked what was going on, and that was that. I had never and would never tell Caroline about some stupid, dangerous thing I was planning to do until after it was done; I refused to let her worry about me.

So, there I was, at the station the next morning, stumbling upon Emma and Sidney arguing.

"Fruits of the poisonous tree - illegally-obtained evidence."

"Illegally?" I said from the doorway upon hearing Emma's words; the pair turned to look at me. "If I'd known you were breaking laws last night, I would have snuck out my window to help."

Emma rolled her eyes, and I took a seat across the desk from her and Sidney. "So . . . what happened? How'd it go?"

"Well . . . there was an incident with the brakes, we nearly died, Regina bought land from Gold, so we broke into her office in the middle of the night to steal documents and evidence that we now cannot use."

I stared at the Sheriff in astonishment. "You did all of that? Emma Swan, I might be in love with you. Do anything more like that, and marriage could definitely be in the cards."

She laughed and Sidney continued their spat. "We don't need her to go to jail. We just need to show everyone who she really is - she destroys what people love." When Emma didn't respond, Sidney sighed and opened a drawer. "Let me show you something." He pulled out a small box and flipped it open, showing Emma and I the collection of photographs inside.

The Sheriff plucked one out of the box and her eyes widened as she saw what it was: her and Henry, at the castle. She began looking through all of the pictures - they were all of her and her son, around Storybrooke.

"She made me follow you," Sidney said quietly. "She knew about your special place weeks ago - she was just waiting for the right moment to strike."

Emma looked at the photo, then at me. I nodded encouragingly. "Alright - I'll do it."

* * *

_I slipped into the king's chambers silently, my cloak fluttering about my thighs as I walked, and I sighed contentedly: I had missed trousers. _

_Having given my client Percival's head - which the twisted psychopath stuck on a spike in the ground - I had snuck back into King Leopold's summer palace, in search of his magical guest of honor. The genie. _

_The man I searched for now stood over Leopold's bed, and I could see the king's face from my spot by the window: his eyes were blank, his veins standing out jet-black against papery-thin, ashen skin. The king was dead._

_I was fairly surprised that the genie had killed him; everything I'd read had suggested them to be tricksters, not murderers. Of course, considering I had decapitated a man the other day for money, I really shouldn't have been that condescending about the whole situation._

_"Genie," I said, keeping my voice just above a whisper. The guards would come soon, and probably notice that the king wasn't moving or breathing. If they were anything like the last few soldiers I'd met in that palace, it would only take them a few minutes to realize that their king was long gone. _

_The genie whirled around, looking a bit terrified. I rolled my eyes; clearly he had never killed before. "I have to say, you are much more sparkly than I thought you'd be."_

_"What do you want?" he demanded quietly, his eyes sparking dangerously at my derision. _

_In a moment, I had him pressed against the wall of the king's chambers, a dagger at his throat. "I want to make a wish."_

_He raised his eyebrows. "You could go to any genie for a wish."_

_"You lot are not nearly as easy to find as you seem to think. Allow me to rephrase this: either I need to make a wish, or I need to slit your throat." I dug the blade into the skin of his collarbone menacingly. "Which option do you think is easier at the moment?"_

_He blanched, looking panicked. "I have no wishes to grant! I was freed from my lamp; I have no control over its power now!" I hid a wince at how loud his voice had become. _

_"No!" I shoved him, and he cracked his head against the stone wall behind him. "No, I need this wish. I wish - I wish to bring my mother back!" Assuming that this would work, I felt a wave of disappointment when nothing happened. "No."_

_The genie smiled sadly. "I told you, child - I cannot control the lamp's power. And anyway, you cannot wish for life or death."_

_Fury wrapped around my heart like fire and I glared up at the genie. "Do not call me child!" I kicked him in the ribs, and he gasped as the air flew out of his lungs. _

_Footsteps came crashing down the corridor, and I could hear the guards yelling. Someone had probably tipped them off about Leopold. I shot the genie one final, furious glance before opening the window._

_"You are incredibly lucky." And with that, I leapt into the night air._

* * *

"So . . . are you okay?" Ruby leaned across the counter from me, looking concerned.

I nodded, wrapping my fingers tightly around my hot chocolate. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

She hesitated, thinking through something. "Well - I mean, you've just seemed kind of weird lately. I mean, weirder than usual. After you left during the storm . . . I just wanted to know if you were alright. If anything happened."

I shook my head in a masterful lie. "No, I'm alright. Nothing happened." I couldn't tell her; telling Ruby, telling Caroline . . . dear God, even telling Emma - I couldn't do it. I refused to be pitied, and further refused to be treated like a lunatic.

Ruby nodded, looking satisfied enough with my answer, and went back to serving coffees to a few people on the other side of the diner.

"So, I checked out the Nolans' place yesterday," I said casually. Ruby glanced at me, looking reproachful, and I sighed.

"And there's nothing there. Honestly, I think I might be paranoid."

Ruby let out a breath of relief and grinned at me. "You just figured that out? I've been telling you for years!"

We kept talking - Ruby was still trying to convince me to go to a party with her this coming weekend - and everything was normal. The hot chocolate was good, the cold weather outside made the diner seem even cozier, and Ruby and I were on good terms again. For the moment, the world seemed alright.

Standing in the Nolans' bedroom, the woman reached down behind the door and picked something up off of the floor: it was a tiny silver charm shaped like a wolf. The woman pinched it between her fingers before dropping it into her pocket.

From outside the room, Kathryn's voice called, "I found the earl gray! Hopefully it's not stale or anything, I think it's been in here for a while . . ."

"That's fine," Regina said, stepping back into the kitchen. "Earl gray is perfect." As Kathryn turned back to the teapot full of scalding water, Regina reached into her pocket to touch the wolf charm and smiled to herself.

Now she was going to have some fun.

* * *

**Author's Note: Dun duh-duh-dun dun! ;D But, in all seriousness, Lindsey is royally screwed at this point. Regina has her and Emma in her crosshairs now . . . As Lindsey would so eloquently say: Bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad - very bad. ;)**

**So, sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I kind of don't want Lindsey/Maeve to take over every episode's plot. This one was more about Emma and Sidney, which is why I wanted Miss Welles to go off on her own adventure. Also, her little escapade there is going to be kind of important later on in this season's storyline for her, so . . . yeah. It was necessary.**

**A massive thank you to asdfghjkl1292, sarahrachel21 and vampdiaries5698 for following this story, and to Anaica, Runner91 and asdfghjkl1292 for reviewing. You guys are all so wonderfully nice, and thank you! :) **

**Also, to answer asdfghjkl1292's question about Lindsey: It wasn't Emma who freaked her out but August, being all perceptive-y and August-y. :) Hope that clears it up - sorry if it was confusing in the story.**

**So, favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. I honestly love hearing from everybody about any aspect of this fic, so reviews are hugely appreciated! :) **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	12. Skin Deep

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters, just my own OCs. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

_I am guiding myself through a series of dimly-lit corridors, one hand trailing along the wall and a sword gripped in the other. Shadows dance across the floor as I walk, stepping carefully; I am not sure why, but I know I need to stay quiet._

_Suddenly, a crash sounds from nearby; footsteps pound down the hallway behind me and I bolt, my feet flying over the frigid stone floor. Something zips past my head, nicking my cheek on its way before embedding itself in a pillar: an arrow. _

_Whirling around, I slash at a guard with my sword: he collapses, his throat slit. Another two take his place, and I cut them down as well, wielding the blade with a skill and accuracy that terrifies me. Someone else is running down the corridor, and I leap forwards with the sword, leveling it with the guard's head before -_

"Lindsey? You okay?"

I sat bolt upright, nearly falling off of the barstool. I wasn't in an unlit castle corridor filled with new corpses; I was sitting in Granny's, Ruby standing behind the counter looking worried.

Rubbing sleep out of my eyes, I glance down at my open notebook, which I had been sleeping on: a hasty sketch of my last dream decorated the page. A line of symbols had been scrawled across the top of the paper - I had no idea what they meant.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." I attempted to put Ruby's mind at ease as she warily walked around the other side of the counter, pouring Mary Margaret a fresh cup of coffee. Putting my head in my hands, I took a deep breath; the dreams were happening everywhere now. What the hell was I supposed to tell people when I woke from one screaming in the middle of class, or at the diner?

"The nightmares getting worse?" I looked up at Ruby, completely taken aback; she sighed, seeming a bit disappointed in me. "Seriously? You aren't sleeping, you wake up from a catnap looking like someone just murdered Alaska, and you refuse to tell Caroline - probably 'cause you don't want her to worry." She ticked these off on her fingers. "Honestly, Linds, I'm not an idiot."

"Murdered Alaska?" I echoed with raised eyebrows. "Ruby, are you planning to kill my cat?"

"God, that is so _not_ the point here - you should tell someone. This could be a serious problem or something."

I leaned away from her in surprise. "You think I'm nuts?" I asked defensively.

"No, not nuts - Lindsey, these nightmares are seriously screwing you up. Don't let them." With another sigh, Ruby walked back into the kitchen to help her grandmother with something. I grimaced; she was right. The nightmares _were _screwing me up.

Giving myself a hard pinch on the wrist to stay awake, I glanced up to see Ashley Boyd walk into Granny's with Alexandra.

"Six hours?" she asked, looking at Mary Margaret and Emma. "You take newborns? 'Cause I'd love six hours."

"Ashley!" Mary Margaret exclaimed; but I had already flung my arms around the petite blonde. Ashley hugged me back, grinning broadly.

"You look great - I almost didn't recognize you," Emma said, smiling at my friend. Ashley pulled a chair up to the two women's table and I followed suit on the opposite side.

"Baby on the outside, you mean?" She laughed, and I knew how delighted she was to be able to say that. She adored Alexandra - although pretty much everyone did - and I knew that, even though she hadn't had as much time to hang out with Ruby and I like she used to, Ashley was still incredibly grateful to Emma for having gotten Gold to break their deal.

"So . . . how are things?" I asked, unable to hide my grin. "I haven't seen you in ages!" I pinched my wrist again as I stifled a yawn. Not going to fall asleep on one of my friends, not going to freak her out with the nightmares . . .

"Um, well . . . Sean's been great. But we haven't exactly had time to do the whole 'getting married' thing yet, so that's been rough . . . and he's been working double shifts at the cannery."

"He's gotta work," Emma remarked.

"On Valentine's day?" Ashley countered sadly. Emma, Mary Margaret and I all gave her a bit of feminine sympathy before Ruby appeared bearing a pot of coffee.

"It doesn't have to suck," she said, smiling slyly. "You could come out with me! You three, too," she added, looking at the rest of us. Then she looked at Emma pointedly and continued, "As long as you leave the badge at home."

"I - I can't," the blonde replied, shaking her head. "But you four go ahead."

"Then, it's settled," Ruby said smugly, still beaming at Mary Margaret, Ashley and I; we all seemed a bit reluctant to reply. "Linds, I'll pick you up at seven and we will all meet at the Rabbit Hole by seven thirty." She flounced off, looking incredibly happy with herself. Ashley and I exchanged a worried glance before Emma stood, looking at her phone screen.

"I have to get going - something's up." As she walked out of Granny's I trailed after her, Ashley and Mary Margaret laughing at some joke behind me.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, and Emma started; she obviously hadn't seem me walking behind her.

"Dear God, you're worse than Henry," she said, looking grim. I smirked. "I know. Seriously, though, what's up?" We climbed into the police car, Emma still not looking thrilled about my tagging along.

"Gold's house."

I raised an eyebrow curiously, deftly switching the radio off of 'Sounds of Storybrooke'. "We're breaking into Gold's house. _Wicked_."

* * *

_"Remind me again why I agreed to this?"_

_I was standing in the courtyard of a small castle, soldiers littering the ground around me in varying states of unconsciousness. I would've preferred to simply kill them, but Rumplestiltskin had vetoed that idea, which I found baffling; he wasn't one to oppose murder. _

_The sorcerer himself was standing in front of me, his murky eyes glittering with greed as he eyed the estate. It belonged to some noble family that governed the nearby town - their patriarch had called Rumple, begging for help to save them from the ogre wars, which they were losing. _

_"Because, as I reminded you upon your arrival, Lady Scarlet, you owe me a debt." Then he laughed manically. "Or you will owe me a debt, fairly soon. Better to settle your dues now, dearie."_

_I rolled my eyes, but followed him inside; as insane as Rumplestiltskin may have been, his predictions were never wrong. And if he really was willing to let me repay him before I was even in his debt . . . well, I was not going to pass up that opportunity. _

_My fingers tightened on my bowstring as we entered the castle, walking through the quiet halls. Everyone seemed to be hiding - perhaps they already knew we were here. I smirked at that thought: people were cowering behind closed doors from me. _

_A few guards came running around the corner of a corridor towards us; I sent an arrow straight through one of their chests. Rumple looked at me sternly, and I sighed and relented. "Fine. No more murders."_

_He raised his hands and a purple light shone through the corridor, blinding me for a moment; when I glanced up, the soldiers had all vanished into thin air. I scowled, muttering a quick, "Show off," before following Rumple towards a pair of tall, oaken doors at the end of the hallway. He knocked on it twice, then grabbed my wrist. Suddenly the entire world was spinning before we were tossed through a void of whirling shadows._

_We appeared inside the room, Rumple reclining lazily in a chair while I stood behind him, resisting the sudden urge to puke. He gave me an impish smile, and I narrowed my eyes in a glare: he knew how sick teleporting made me._

_There was a crowd of people standing by the oak doors now, peering into the corridor beyond as one of them lamented about how 'he' was never going to come. I flicked my eyes towards Rumple; were these people seriously desperate enough to lament about his absence?_

_"Well, that was a bit of a letdown," Rumple observed, and his trademark smirk appeared as the cluster of nobles and soldiers whirled around in surprise and fear._

_"You," a man at the front of the group spoke. Rumple grinned. "Me."_

_"I believe you sent me a message? Something along the lines of 'help! help! we're dying, can you save us!' Correct?" _

_"How did you even get past the walls?" The man who spoke was presumably the patriarch, dressed in orange robes and an odd hat. It seemed that wealthy people were hugely fond of strange hats._

_"Hello?" I said, raising my eyebrows at him. "He does have me, after all. How else?"_

_"It's her," someone whispered, their voice quaking. "Lady Scarlet."_

_I flashed the group a half-smile before giving a mocking curtsey. "In the flesh."_

_Rumple waved a dismissive hand in my direction, saying, "Sorry about her - no manners whatsoever. But as for your message . . . yes. I can save you."_

_He stood, walking forwards. A young man in blue stepped forward, unsheathing a sword and holding it at the Dark One's chest. Rumple gave me a pointed look and I suppressed another sigh, hoping that this wasn't why he had brought me along with him. _

_But I relented after a moment and stepped forward, regarding my newest opponent's blade: the sword was shining and silver, looking as if it had never seen a single fight, despite its owner supposedly fighting a war. I curled my lip at the boy before me and disarmed him with one fluid movement, knocking his blade to the ground and simultaneously kneeing him in his southern regions. He groaned, and I smirked down at him._

_"Gaston!" A young girl called out what I assumed to be the boy's name, and he turned to glance at her. Then, looking furiously at me, he straightened and walked back to join the rest of the group. _

_"I can protect your precious little town," Rumple continued, walking around to the doors, forcing the group to retreat from him. I followed suit, gripping my bow. "For a price."_

_"We sent you the promise of gold," the patriarch said, and I tossed Rumple an exasperated glance. Was he seriously this thick, or was he just pretending to gain pity?_

_"The thing is he, ah, makes gold," I explained, annoyed. How long was this stupid transaction going to take? I'd been busy when the Dark One had enlisted my assistance, and was quickly growing tired of the ignoramus we were dealing with. _

_"This will be something far more special," Rumple said, leaning in closer to the patriarch. "My price . . . is her." He pointed towards the young girl who had called out Gaston's name: a pretty brunette with incredibly blue eyes. She stared at Rumple, astounded. _

_Then the men took charge, the way those idiots typically do: Gaston threw an arm in front of the young girl, and the patriarch said, "No," in the firmest tone he'd used with Rumple so far, which led me to believe that she was his daughter. The young girl looked a bit frustrated by all of this, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. Then it was gone, along with all my good intentions. _

_"Well then, have fun with the ogres," I said, waving happily before turning to skip out of the room. But one look from Rumplestiltskin had me spinning back around on my heel, pissed as hell. I had plans, damn it! _

_"The young lady is engaged," Gaston said; his voice came out annoyingly haughty. "To me."_

_I laughed, flashing the girl a pitying glance. "How unfortunate for her."_

_Gaston glared at me, apparently forgetting our previous encounter. "I will not step aside and allow a sorcerer and his servant kidnap her. And I do not fear your accomplice," he added, giving me a snide once-over. "She's riffraff, and a girl at that."_

_"And what exactly does that mean?" I asked, my voice growing incredibly quiet._

_"Well, girls can't fight worth anything," Gaston said, glaring down at me with a sneer. "And a worthless peasant will not be any threat to me." My gaze hardened, and I looked up at Gaston with a glare of pure, burning hatred. _

_"Don't provoke her," Rumple said in a sing-song voice, although he was watching me with a look that said 'and you don't provoke me'. I stood there a moment, frozen from my anger, but eventually took a deep breath and backed away from Gaston._

_"Come on, Rumple," I said, stalking out of the room. "We're leaving." I barely cared that he followed me out._

_But then a voice behind us called, "Wait!" I whipped around, fully prepared to skewer the first person I came across - but it was only the young girl with the startlingly blue eyes. She was staring at Rumple, looking as if she were thinking incredibly hard. "If I agree to your deal, you will save us? My family, my friends - they will all live?"_

_Rumple nodded. "You have my word."_

_There was a long moment as the girl watched him. "I will go with you. Forever."_

_"No!" The patriarch looked distraught. "Belle, you cannot do this!"_

_The girl - Belle - whirled around to look at her father, her gaze brimming with unspoken frustration. "No one decides my fate but me." I raised an eyebrow at her: little miss Belle seemed a lot more tolerable than I would have thought._

_She walked over to bid her father goodbye, and hugged him tightly. Gaston walked over to the pair and shook his head, saying, "I won't allow it."_

_"You cannot go with this . . . this beast." Her father glared at Rumple, who held a hand over his heart and gave a mocking look of offense. His eyes traveled over me and he added, "Or his servant."_

_I blew out a sigh, bracing a hand on my hip and tracing the other along the hilt on my dagger. "I am not his servant! I'm Lady Scarlet, one of the most feared assassins in this realm. So show some respect, or I'll have to force it out of you." _

_"Papa, Gaston," Belle said, attempting to calm the two men. "It has been decided."_

_"You know," Rumple added, walking to stand behind Belle and grinning maniacally. "She's right. The deal has been struck."_

_And with that, he looped an arm through Belle's and marched out of the room with her, while I followed behind them, sending Gaston furious glares before I slammed the oak doors shut._

* * *

"This is awesome," I said for the fourth time since we'd entered Gold's house.

"You can stop saying that," Emma remarked as she interviewed Gold briefly, asking him about potential suspects for the robbery that had taken place.

"Miss Swan, why exactly did you bring Miss Welles with you?" Mr Gold was watching me suspiciously, his eyes narrowed as I gave him an innocent smile. Obviously, my sweet little girl facade was not working.

Emma shrugged, probably not caring, and I grinned at the blonde. "I've been trying to break into this place for ages. Never got in, though. Bit disappointing, considering Moe French managed it. Pathetic on my part, really - I mean, Moe French beat me to this glorious triumph."

The Sheriff raised an eyebrow as we headed back into the police car. "Is this Moe French actually as stupid as you think?"

I nodded, scowling at the idea: Moe freaking French broke into Gold's house before me? That was incredibly pathetic on my part. Emma's next words perked me up, however. "You by any chance know where this French guy lives?"

Two hours later, Emma and I were sitting in the station, playing a game of wastepaper basketball. So far, the score stood five-to-eleven, in my favour. The situation made me a tad melancholy, enough to allow memories of Graham trotting back into my mind; but I only allowed myself to reminisce for a minute, giving my wrist a hard pinch to snap myself out of any morbidity.

"Moe French beat me into Gold's house," I muttered, aghast.

Emma rolled her eyes, but before she could reply Mr Gold came striding into the station, looking expectant. The Sheriff and I exchanged a glance of surprise, considering Gold would rarely come to either of us for help.

"Miss Swan, Miss Welles," he said shortly. "Have you recovered anything yet?"

Emma leaned forwards a bit, dragging a white sheet off of her desk, which was covered in Gold's belongings: china, porcelain, statuettes, even a thick Persian rug that Caroline would've adored.

Gold studied his possessions before looking back over at Emma, who said, "You were right - Moe ripped you off. All the stuff was still back at his place, and we're now closing in on him."

"So . . . job well half-done, anyway."

"In less than a day, I got everything back!" I coughed discreetly and Emma sighed. "Okay, _we _got everything back." I nodded, pleased; I was the one who'd picked the lock on French's back door. Emma seemed to be growing increasingly alarmed at my criminal capabilities.

"You've recovered nothing," Gold spat furiously, stalking out of the station, muttering something about 'finding him first'. Glancing at the Sheriff, I bit my lip - this was not going to end well.

* * *

_I stood in the Dark One's castle, daggers sheathed and bow slung across my back - for the moment. Rumple had summoned me - again with the summoning?! - and asked me to wait in the courtyard. I did as I was told, which I hated, and remained concealed in a small grove of trees. I did not notice the young girl leave the castle, her bright green cloak wrapped tightly around her small form._

_I did, however, notice Rumplestiltskin, who came out to meet me looking more than a little distraught. Every muscle in my body frozen instantly when I saw him: the Dark One looked . . . heartbroken? It was too bizarre a sight to comprehend._

_"I need you to watch over Belle," he said, his voice soft and almost pleading. I'd never seen him like this; caring for someone else seemed foreign to a man like Rumple. But there he was, half-begging me to take care of someone he had kept as a maidservant. _

_"We've discussed this, Rumple," I said warily, still disturbed by his sadness. "I don't babysit."_

_He looked as if he would've liked to hit me, and my hand was halfway to one of my knives when Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One, the sorcerer all rational beings feared, cried._

_It wasn't sobs and it wasn't excessive: just a pair of tears, one from each eye, sliding down his leathery green cheeks. I stared; I couldn't help it. Rumple had shed a tear - no, two tears - over the absence of a girl he had taken prisoner. Then he sat down on a stone bench, clenching his teeth and balling his hands into fists at his sides._

_"Just watch over her," he managed to say, his voice thick; he was obviously hiding back any sort of emotional display in front of me. "I need you to watch over her."_

_I moved to turn away, to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. I glanced down at him and he looked back, imploringly, another tear shimmering in the corner of one eye. "Maeve," he said softly, and I hissed out a breath through my teeth. No one had called me by my given name since - well, for a very long time. I wasn't even aware that he remembered it._

_"Maeve," he said again. "Please."_

_Sucking in a deep breath I removed his reptilian fingers from my wrist, placing his hand carefully by his side, and slowly nodded. He nodded back, and I knew that it was the only thanks I would receive for quite some time from him. _

_"But Rumple," I added before I walked away, after Belle. "You owe me."_

* * *

"Isn't this great?!"

Ruby and I were standing inside the Rabbit Hole's entrance. She looked incredibly excited so I opted to say nothing in response, instead glancing warily around the bar. Everyone in sight seemed suspicious - reason number forty-three that people like me shouldn't go into bars.

"Right . . ." I looked down at my outfit. Ruby had decided to dress me up, and I was currently standing there in a deep blue, glittery thing whose skirt stuck to my thighs so tightly it made it difficult to walk. She'd also convinced me to wear heels: a pair of black stilettos that I knew I couldn't walk in, much less run. I'd argued that, if we were attacked by a serial killer that night, I would be the first to die because of those shoes.

"Come on, I can see them!" Ruby pulled me through the dimly=lit bar, towards a small circular table where Ashley and Mary Margaret sat, both of them with drinks. Ruby gave me a brief once-over before ordering for the both of us. When I shot her a questioning glance, she shrugged. "You're eighteen, sweetie, and in the Rabbit Hole. Not hard to find you a drink."

She set some odd, red-tinged concoction in front of me and said with a grin, "Cocktail, Linds. Go ahead; I won't tell Caroline." She took a sip of her own drink, which was clear and had a strong, acidic scent.

I took a cautious sip of my drink and nearly spit it out over the table. I'd never actually had alcohol before - unless you counted tiny sips of Caroline's mulled red wine, which Ruby did not - and it tasted strange: like bleach in your mouth, but acid on the way down your throat.

I coughed, and Mary Margaret gave me a sympathetic glance. Ashley simply laughed along with Ruby, and for a moment I remembered all the stupid parties we used to go to together - the two older girls sneaking me inside, all of us laughing like idiots when someone would catch me there.

"Ash, Linds, check out those guys," Ruby said, smiling slyly and nodding in the direction of a couple of guys by the bar.

"Honey, I'm still with Sean," Ashley said, shaking her head before she downed a shot of something that looked a lot like water.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You're not married, and he's not here. Lindsey'll come with me, though, right?" She looked at me, and I knew she was fully prepared to beg. 'Come on, Linds' I could hear her say. 'Two hot guys in a bar, by themselves, as are we. Isn't it obvious what happens next?'

I shook my head, forcing down another sip of my drink; I was becoming used to the taste. "I'm fine, Ruby. Go ahead, though - the one on the left's been checking you out since we walked in."

She perked up instantly, plucking up her drink and sashaying over to the guys in a way only Ruby Lucas could do in a skin-tight dress with five-inch heels. It was a miracle she could make it four feet from the table in those damned shoes.

"She's right, you know," Ashley said glumly, looking down at the table. "He is always working. I thought . . . well, I thought love would be different."

"Me, too," Mary Margaret agreed, and I sat there feeling like a bit of an outsider.

"I know absolutely nothing about love," I said happily, taking another swig of my drink. Then I coughed as it scalded my throat on the way down. "And apparently I know nothing about alcohol, either."

* * *

_I held Regina at arrow-point, glaring. "What the hell did you tell her?"_

_The Evil Queen looked me over, her lips quirking up into a knowing smirk. "Afternoon, Lady Scarlet. The past few months have not been kind, have they?"_

_"What - the hell - did - you - tell her?!" I screamed these last words, anger coursing through me. Belle French had been talking to Regina - and the Queen had corrupted her, I was certain of it. I needed to assess the damage._

_Regina stepped forwards, walking around me in a full circle. "Hmm . . . you mean the young girl who just went on her way a moment ago? What was her name: Betsy . . . perhaps Yvonne?" _

_"Belle, actually," I seethed, my eyes narrowed as I aimed for Regina's heart. "Now what did you do? What the bloody hell did you tell her?!"_

_The Queen laughed softly, now standing on my right side. I whirled around, but not before her gloved hand pulled back my long, red hair, exposing the skin of my neck. She ran a finger over the scar that marred that skin, jagged and nearly three inches long, stretching from under my ear to the back of my jaw. I leapt away from her touch, revulsion shuddering within me._

_"Such a horrible thing to happen to such a pretty face," she whispered menacingly, her dark eyes on the patch of skin I had covered once again with my hair. "Unfortunate, that little accident."_

_I growled a curse at her and fired my arrow, not caring if I missed her or not; in fact, the arrow pierced through Regina's upturned collar, and pinned her to the tree behind her. I leaned in close to the Queen, a thousand threats on the tip of my tongue. But I held them all back, one question being for more important._

_"What did you tell her?"_

* * *

Ashley, Mary Margaret and I were all still sitting at our table; Ruby was off somewhere, flirting with a guy she'd met earlier. I was on my second drink, although I'd barely touched it so far. Taking the alcohol slowly would probably be a good idea for a moment.

"Honestly, I just need a Be-With-My-Guy night," Ashley said quietly, and I glanced up as I noticed the sadness in my friend's voice. "And he's never around."

"I mean, what's the point in being together, when you're never _together_?"

Mary Margaret nodded solemnly. "I get it. Loving someone you can't be with is a terrible, terrible burden." She took a sip of her third drink, and Ashley just stared sadly at her empty cocktail glass as she picked at the tablecloth.

I was taken aback by the abrupt change in atmosphere, when I noticed Sean Herman walk into the bar, looking nervous and clutching a bouquet of red roses - Ashley's favourite. I suppressed a grin, winking conspiratorially at Sean, and said, "Well, maybe your fairy tale isn't quite as over as you think, Ash. There're miracles all around you if you just _look_."

Gesturing behind her, Ashley turned around in her seat and saw Sean. She stood up and walked over to him, shocked. "Sean? I thought you were working tonight?"

He smiled at her, a bit shyly, and I smiled brightly to myself; at least Ashley had found someone who deserved her. "It's my break, and I - I had to come see you." Ruby had reappeared, looking excited, and leaned over the table between Mary Margaret and I took get a better view of the couple.

"He's going to propose, isn't he?" I whispered, and Ruby replied quietly, "My God, he better. If he doesn't, I'll do it for him."

Sean then knelt in front of Ashley, pulling out a small velvet box, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from saying anything as one of my best friends said "Yes" to the love of her life. Ruby wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind, and I could hear her laughing softly as Sean said, "We could go around in my truck for ten minutes. Not much of a date, but -"

"No, it's the best date," Ashley argued, hugging him tightly. The bar applauded; they actually clapped for Ashley and Sean. I hadn't known that that actually happened in reality, but it was nice to know that it did. That other people were happy simply because they were.

"Makes you hope, doesn't it?" Ruby asked, grinning. "Watching someone's dreams come true."

I nodded, smiling to myself, suddenly glad Ruby had talked me into coming on her stupid Girls' Night at a bar called the Rabbit Hole on Valentine's Day, when typically I would've been at home, curled up with Alaska, a book and a Clash album. I was ecstatic that I'd come to something I had mostly hated, because the ending made up for it.

The ending definitely made up for it all.

* * *

_"Rumple!" I was sprinting up the steps of the Dark One's castle, gasping for breath but managing to yell a weak call to the person I was running to._

_"Rumple, wait! It isn't her fault! It was -" I froze, panting as I had stumbled into the great hall of Dark Castle. The place was ruined._

_I walked inside slowly, staring at the wreckage: shattered china and glass littered the floor, all of the shelves had been destroyed beyond repair and their contents lay strewn about on the carpet. The wall was splashed with something that upon further inspection turned out to be wine, not blood, and a tapestry hung on the wall, torn to shreds._

_"What the hell happened in here?" I muttered to myself. Soft footsteps creaked over floorboards behind me, and I whirled around to see Rumplestiltskin standing there, looking murderous._

_"Rumple? Oh God, Rumple - it wasn't her fault, I swear it! Belle, she was tricked, and I came as fast as I could -" I ceased talking immediately when I spotted his cut and bloodied hands. "Dark One? What - what happened?"_

_"She's gone," he croaked, walking stiffly into the room. He seemed to be dragging his whole body as he walked, as if a huge weight had been dropped onto him and he was carrying it over his back. "She's gone now."_

_"Who? Belle?" I took a hesitant step closer to him; I had never seen the Dark One this - this manic before. Sure, he put up the insane facade for clientele, but in reality he was incredibly sane, if a tad paranoid. He had never, in my lifetime, looked this unhinged before._

_"Rumple, what happened? Where did she go?"_

_"She's gone," he said again, and a single tear fell down his face. "She left."_

_Rumple collapsed into a chair, his face twisted with hideous fury and pain. "She left me." Another tear fell, and my stomach knotted; it felt wrong to see him like this, so weak and defenceless. But it felt even more wrong to leave him by himself._

_"I'm all alone again." _

* * *

**Author's Note: So, hello! Lots of Rumple feels in this one . . . Sorry for the wait - although it has only been forty-eight-ish hours - but I have school now, so updates with take a bit longer than before. Also, I'll be focusing on quality rather than quantity from here on out, because I've been looking back at the previous chapters for reference and they were ticking me off. **

**So, this was incredibly fun to write because 'Skin Deep' was one of my absolute favourite episodes of OUAT, in all three seasons. Belle was one of the only princesses I liked as a child - and not just 'cause of the book thing - and Rumbelle is amazing. Also, I loved how raw and intense the emotion was in that episode: Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin were incredible in it, and their chemistry is parallel to Josh and Ginnifer's, to be honest. So, yeah, I was super-excited to rewrite this episode for my fic. :)**

**A huge thank you to everyone who has read this fic, and a special thanks to AnimePrincessRache, DarkDeath000, Its-Rizzles-Bitch, Maddell and SeleneAlice for favourite-ing and following, and to Guest for reviewing - sorry, don't know your name. ;)**

**Favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Thanks again, lovelies! ;)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	13. Song of the Siren

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters - just my own OCs. :)**

* * *

"What's up?"

I glanced over at Emma, who had just slid into the seat next to me at Granny's. I had taken shelter in a corner booth at the diner, my fingers wrapped around a huge mug so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

"What do you mean?" I was trying to hide my trembling from Emma, but it was getting bad: I was still in my grey peacoat, even the warm interior of the diner's heater not being enough to keep me warm. Another shiver ran through my body, and I clenched my teeth in frustration.

Emma's eyebrows flew to her hairline. "Seriously? You're hiding here, drinking coffee, which is odd enough because I have never once seen you drink coffee in the entire time I've been here. And I know you're avoiding Ruby, despite her being your only best friend, next to Caroline and your cat."

I blew out a sigh, inhaling the steam that rose from my drink. It was true that I never drank coffee: I hated the bitterness that no amount of sugar seemed to counteract. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and I needed the extra caffeine that tea simply couldn't provide. Sleeping was becoming less and less frequent for me.

"Nothing's wrong," I said, a bit too quickly, and silently cursed myself; the nightmares were even screwing with my ability to lie properly. "I'm fine. Ruby and I are just . . . having a fight." That was somewhat true: Ruby had insisted I tell Caroline about the nightmares, explaining that she wouldn't mind worrying as long as she could help me. I had refused. The only reason Caroline didn't already know was because Ruby, even when pissed at me, would never go behind my back to tell her.

The Sheriff seemed entirely unconvinced, but before she could say anything else, Mary Margaret Blanchard had stepped up to the front door of Granny's with a clipboard clutched tightly to her chest, looking nervous. "Can - can I have your attention, everyone?"

Everyone looked up, but more out of annoyance or to cast derisive looks her way than actual interest. Emma and I watched as she announced the upcoming Miner's Day party, and asked for volunteers. Leroy, the most unpleasant person in all of Storybrooke - including Regina freaking Mills herself - walked up to her and said something: I couldn't hear what it was but it must've been snarky, because Mary Margaret looked almost tearful as he pushed past her through the doorway. Emma and I exchanged a worried glance and followed the teacher out of the diner.

"Hey!" Emma said as we rushed to walk on either side of her. "Mind if we join you?"

Mary Margaret shrugged glumly, still holding her clipboard as though it were a life preserver. "So, what's this Miner's Day thing?" The other woman looked too upset to answer, so I did instead.

"It's an annual holiday that started a while back when the nuns used to trade candles to the local miners for coal," I explained. The Sheriff looked confused.

"Coal? In Maine?"

I shrugged. "I know - the premise is completely ridiculous. Although I understand, considering our local seafood leaves much to be desired." I was specifically thinking about a fish and chip place on Madison that served some of the worst seafood on this side of the U.S. "Anyway, now the convent uses the holiday as a fundraiser. There's a huge party, everyone loves it."

"Doesn't seem like everyone loves it," the blonde remarked, glancing back at the diner.

"It's not Miner's Day." Mary Margaret finally spoke up, although she kept her chin tucked in her scarf rather shyly, as if hiding from someone. "It's me. I had twelve volunteers drop out yesterday."

"You honestly think that people are ditching Miner's Day because of you and David?"

"Oh, I know they are - some of them told me as much."

I was tempted to ask which volunteers had mentioned her affair, but decided against it. Instead I opted for the more optimistic "It'll blow over eventually" speech. Mary Margaret still looked thoroughly depressed, and Emma piped up.

"Yeah - you made a mistake with David, it happens." I nodded in agreement.

"I've never been a . . . _homewrecker _before," she pondered, looking both thoughtful and melancholy. "It's not very fun. I've ruined my life."

Then, Emma's ringtone chimed from her pocket. She pulled out her phone and spoke quickly and quietly into it, then hung up with a familiar expression: the same one Graham used to get when something important was happening. I immediately perked up from our depressing conversation, and she glanced at me apprehensively.

"I'm coming, no ifs ands or buts about it, alright?" I was fully prepared to argue with Emma on this, but she just sighed and nodded, leading me back to the police car as we waved goodbye to Mary Margaret, who was continuing down the street towards the square.

* * *

_Isadora was sick._

_Not the 'it'll pass soon' sort of sick - the 'make preparations' sort of sick. That idea had petrified me: make preparations? At first, I hadn't understood what Izzy had told me. Preparations for what? But then it hit me, and all I could do was mutter a firm 'No'. That was the only response I could think of: to negate the entire situation, to think that by ignoring the problem it would go away. But it hadn't._

_Lake Nostos was the only solution. Everyone talked about its healing magic, but no one truly believed in it; and I was a huge sceptic. A magical lake in the middle of the woods that could heal any ailment or injury? It seemed an insult to my intelligence to believe in it._

_But here I was, approaching the lake itself, watching as mist swept over its crystal blue waters. I wondered if it really could heal - if perhaps all the legends were correct. Holding my knife above my hand, I sliced deeply into my palm, barely wincing. I'd had far worse injuries in the past._

_Reaching my good hand into the lake's shallow edge, I scooped out some water and sipped it: it tasted like normal water, if a bit dirty. I glanced down at my hand and reeled back in shock - the blood had faded, the cut now a silver-pink scar, and even that was quickly disappearing as the skin stretched back over the wound. I looked from the water to my hand and back again, astonished. Now I felt like an idiot._

_I pulled a pouch of regular water from my bag, dumping out its contents and leaned over to fill it with the enchanted waters; but suddenly I felt something cold close over my wrist as I dipped my hand in the lake, and every muscle in my body froze. Forcing myself to move a bit, I stared down into the clear depths of the lake and saw a pair of huge green eyes staring back up at me._

_A young girl, maybe a bit older than me, rose from Lake Nostos, smiling. What really struck me was her beauty: long, flowing white-blonde hair, her pale face all sharp angles and cheekbones, with big eyes that were a startling green. Strings of precious stones were laced through her hair, and a tight dress of shimmering blue fabric covered her soft curves. Her fingers, slender and freezing cold, remained wrapped around my wrist as she stood._

_"Hello," she said; her voice, much like her beauty, was ethereal. _

_"Hi," I said, suddenly feeling very shy. That baffled me; I was never shy. Never. Not with kings, not with thieves, not even with Rumplestiltskin. _

_The girl smiled wider. "Maeve - such a pleasure to meet you." I nodded absently as another splash sounded from somewhere down the shore: a second girl rising from the water, also smiling. That made me grin; everyone there seemed so happy to see me. Then I snapped myself out if it, out of the trance. My smile vanished._

_"You - you're sirens." It was not a question._

_The girl before me nodded. "Yes, we are. And you are Lady Scarlet." She leaned closer to me, pulling me towards her, forcing me to step into the water. We were close enough that I could smell her: a mixture of lilies and saltwater. "We're dangerous, Maeve - but, of course, you like dangerous, don't you?"_

_That was when she kissed me._

_It was insane: kissing a siren in the middle of the woods when my aunt was dying somewhere. But her trance grew stronger, taking all reason from my mind completely as she pressed her lips to mine, smiling against my mouth when I finally kissed her back. Her hand traveled from my wrist, down my arm, towards my shoulder. My own hands slowly went around her waist. It was a lot like drinking alcohol, really: heady and distracting, taking everything else out of your mind._

_Then I thought of Izzy and pulled away from the siren, disgusted. My aunt was dying, and here I was, kissing some - admittedly very attractive - she-demon in the woods when I was supposed to be saving her life. _

_"Stop!" I held my hands up, preventing the siren from resuming anything. "Just - stop it!" I backed away from her for good measure, but before I could leave the water she grabbed my wrist again; and when I glanced back up at her face, it wasn't the blonde siren I was seeing, but a boy with deep brown eyes and messy black hair, a dash of freckles dotting his nose._

_"Simon."_

_Suddenly, I couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't even breathe; it was as if his presence had stolen all the air from my lungs, as it had a thousand times before. My heart beat against my ribcage in protest, and I pulled shallow breaths into myself, petrified. _

_"You would prefer his form, wouldn't you?" So it was still the siren. I blinked, but it didn't change the fact that it was still Simon's face looking down at me. _

_"Just - stay away from me," I hissed, backing away from him. Simon - no, the siren - grabbed me again, and I struggled futilely against his strong grip. Simon laughed. "I thought you liked dangerous, Maeve? Perhaps Simon is just a little too dangerous for you."_

_He leaned forwards, his lips ghosting across mine tauntingly; and it infuriated me that I wanted it. I wanted Simon - wanted him to kiss me like he used to, wanted him to hold me and whisper into my hair again, wanted him to make me feel loved the way no one had been able to in a very long time. But that was impossible. _

_"No," I managed, proud that my voice was steady. Simon grinned darkly, tightening his grip on my wrist as pulling me closer. _

_"Alright, we'll skip the pleasantries."_

_And then the previous love of my life pulled me underwater._

* * *

"The car belonged to Kathryn Nolan, who is completely MIA."

Emma and I were standing around a car, abandoned on the side of the road, the 'leaving Storybrooke' sign just beyond it. The Sheriff was snapping pictures of the vehicle while I examined the contents of the glove compartment. So far, nothing but outdated newsletters and chapstick.

Sidney Glass stood behind Emma, holding one of those fancy cameras that photographers use in old movies. He took a quick picture of the car before straightening and following Emma to the other side.

"Kathryn Nolan?" he asked suspiciously. "You mean the Kathryn Nolan whose husband very publicly left her?"

"Yes. And your point is . . . ?" I glared at Sidney, who I'd never been particularly fond of. He was too presumptuous and on too short a leash when it came to Regina Mills.

He took another photo and shrugged, as if it were obvious. "The story practically writes itself. I get a scoop like that, and the Daily Mirror will have no choice but to take me back with open arms." He looked quite pleased with himself.

Emma glanced over her shoulder at him, glaring. "Easy, tiger. We don't know what happened yet. For Christ's sake, we just found the car an hour ago. She's not even officially missing yet."

"Yet." I shot Sidney an angry glare and he clammed up: striking fear into the heart of Sidney Glass was an old pastime of mine, and I was delighted that it was still something I was capable of, nightmares or no nightmares.

"Kathryn had applied to law school in Boston. She was probably headed there, car broke down, and she hitched the rest of the way. It's what I'd do, if I were running from my problems." Emma walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk: two suitcases were packed tightly into it.

"Would you leave all your belongings here?" Sidney was getting more annoying by the minute.

Emma looked worried as she turned to me. "I need Kathryn's phone records, see who she spoke to last."

"Don't bother, it'll take you days to get those. I've got a contact at the phone company from my time at the Mirror, and I can get the records in a couple of hours." I was sceptical - it was Sidney, the Mayor's little pet, after all - but Emma seemed to trust him, and nodded with a quick thank you.

Then a car pulled up to the crime scene, and David Nolan climbed out - the last person I wanted to see at the moment. He had ruined Mary Margaret's life, temporarily at least, which made him my mortal enemy. But he seemed genuinely shocked as he came up to Kathryn's car, looking from me to Emma and back again as if we could give him any answers.

"You really think he doesn't know?"

I glared at Sidney. "Well, we're about to find out."

* * *

"So, I called the school in Boston," Emma said to Sidney as we approached him. He was playing a ring toss game at the Miner's Day celebration. "She never showed up for registration."

"Something is wrong, then."

I rolled my eyes at the ex-reporter. "No shit. And what are you doing? We have a missing person's case now!"

"I'm not police," he said defensively. I opened my mouth to argue, but Emma shook her head at me and I shut up, fuming at Sidney. I wasn't absolutely certain what it was about him, but he always managed to piss me off no matter the circumstances.

"Emma! Lindsey!" Mary Margaret came running up to the three of us and I gaped at Leroy, who trailed after her, both of them looking excited. "Quick, I need your help. Which looks more sympathetic: scarf or no scarf?" She adjusted her accessory in a brief demonstration.

"Uh - scarf," Emma said, looking as baffled as I felt. "Okay, thanks!" Mary Margaret and Leroy scurried off, Leroy grumbling about 'being on a schedule'. Dear Lord, what were those two up to?

Emma turned back to Sidney, who said, "Why didn't you say anything? You're looking for motive - well, pixie-cut over there's got one a mile high!"

I stepped forward furiously, about to tell Sidney off when Emma put a hand on my arm, stopping me from doing anything I might regret later. The blonde eyed Sidney angrily and said curtly, "She didn't have anything to do with it - trust me."

"Just get those damn phone records," I said flatly, and pulled Emma away from the ex-reporter before I started hitting him - again. It hadn't ended well for me last time I'd hit Sidney Glass, so I was trying to avoid the temptation.

"Do we trust him to be near the case?" I asked quietly as the Sheriff and I climbed back inside the police car.

Emma shook her head as she pulled away from the curb. "Hell no."

* * *

_I thrashed and kicked, scratched my nails across Simon's face a dozen times. Nothing worked. He just kept dragging me under the water, further and further from the surface, from breathing. I missed breathing._

_My head was pounding as the pressure built inside of it, and my lungs ached for the air that wasn't available. I struck Simon in the back with my foot and he let me go, floating in the water. I tried to swim away, but I didn't have the strength to move my arms properly. I drifted, my chest burning from lack of oxygen._

_"Maeve." The name was whispered in my mind this time, in his voice. I shivered internally; the last time Simon had whispered my name was not a pleasant memory. He couldn't be here, he couldn't be real: I had taken my revenge on him, I had escaped the horrific trap that was his love._

_No, I thought stubbornly. No, it couldn't be Simon. I wouldn't let it be. After all, I wasn't in love with him - just the idea of him. And ideas, even ones that danced across your mind as you fell asleep, haunting your dreams, couldn't simply appear out of thin air._

_Then I remembered where I was drowning: Lake Nostos. The lake that could heal all wounds. Did that include lack of oxygen? I had nothing else to lose. After a moment of consideration, I opened my mouth and sucked in a gulp of frigid lakewater._

_Immediately, I felt a surge of strength inside me, a familiar feeling: magic. A tiny smile played at the corners of my mouth as I watched the Siren stare at me in terror while I swam easily to the lake's surface; then she was right on my heels, chasing after me._

_"Not so fast, blondie," I said quietly as she reached the surface of the water, striding across it purposefully. I whirled around on the shore, pitching my dagger forwards: it sank up to its hilt in her chest and she collapsed. Now that she was back to her original form, her long white-blonde hair flowed out in the water like strands of silk. Even in death, she was otherworldly beautiful._

_I reached down, pulling the knife out of her corpse, and filled my pouch with the enchanted water. Then I turned around and walked away from Lake Nostos, dripping wet and listening to the other siren's cries of grief as she discovered her dead sister._

* * *

"Phone records don't lie, people do. David Nolan just does it better than most."

I shook my head stubbornly. "This is ridiculous. Why would David murder his ex-wife when she was already leaving Storybrooke?"

Sidney shrugged as if he honestly didn't care, which grated on my nerves even more: as much as I disliked David at the moment, I hated Sidney Glass even more. Which was exactly why I was defending the nice idiot, instead of the back-stabbing moron standing before me.

"Just call him in or something," Sidney said, now directing his comments to Emma, who looked a bit shell-shocked. I understood: she was so adamant about her superpower that she had probably never come across someone who could lie to her. The entire thing was insane.

"Lindsey," she said quietly. "I need you to head over to the celebration. Ask around, interrogate - do your crazy-inquisitive Lindsey thing, alright? Find out anything and everything you can about Kathryn and David's situation, and anyone else who might've held a grudge against her."

"Are you seriously considering -?"

"I don't want to, but we have no choice. I'm Sheriff, Lindsey. I have to investigate where my evidence leads me, and right now it's pointing straight to David." Emma looked sad about this fact, and I paused for a minute before nodding in agreement.

"Fine, I'll go. No corrupting anything while I'm gone, idiot," I added, glaring pointedly at Sidney before throwing my peacoat on over my sweater and striding out of the station.

Ten minutes later, I was wandering around the Miner's Day celebration asking people questions about Kathryn while I nibbled on the single scone and hot chocolate that was my dinner.

Turns out, everyone adored Kathryn. I found this hilarious, considering that I had suspected her of being an obsessive, stalking psychopath a mere fortnight ago.

"Kathryn? Oh, no, everyone I know loved her. She was such a sweet girl." One of the Nolans' neighbors chattered on for a few minutes while I attempted to eat my scone, although I was having trouble keeping much down those days. "Did you hear about her husband's affair? Horrible, isn't it? If you ask me, that flighty little tramp of a schoolteacher probably had something to do with her disappearance."

My grip on the hot chocolate cup tightened and I glared at the woman. "Well, it's a damn good thing I didn't ask you about Mary Margaret, then." She seemed to take the hint and walked away, looking at least a bit embarrassed. Thank God for that.

Five more people suggested Mary Margaret to be a suspect. Fifteen more insulted her: from tramp to whore to tart, and even terms for harlot that I didn't even know. A little old lady remarked about that 'piece of tail', while Mr and Mrs Caulfield mentioned her to be a 'trollop'. As soon as the phrase 'fille de joie' was used, I decided it would be a good time to freak out.

"Fille de joie? _Seriously_?" I demanded, glaring at a tall man with scruff and a hooked nose, who I had just dumped the remainder of my hot chocolate all over. "She works at an elementary school, not a brothel, you idiot!" Then I stalked off, trying to calm myself by finding another hot chocolate - I'd wasted half of mine on the tall man's head.

"Lindsey!" I whirled around to fine myself face-to-face with none other than Mary Margaret herself, who was looking quite distressed: she was panting heavily, and her eyes were filled with panic. "Lindsey, come with me - I need your help!" And without another word, she was pulling me off through the crowd of Storybrooke residents, who all let us pass with hateful glares.

"What in God's name is going on?!" I demanded as the teacher led me into a building, up a flight of stairs and through a hatch onto the roof.

"Leroy, don't do it!" Mary Margaret ran forwards frantically, waving her arms, and my startled gaze flitted to Leroy, who was standing on the edge of the roof, staring down at the ground below. I felt my stomach clench; dear God, he might actually do it.

"I'm not going to jump!" Leroy retorted, looking annoyed. Mary Margaret froze in her tracks, and I let out a breath of relief. "You're not?"

"Are you kidding me? I could hit somebody, do some serious damage - I'm solidly built."

I folded my arms, shivering; it was far colder up there than on the ground. "So you aren't about to end your existence and simultaneously traumatize us?"

He shook his head. "Then what the hell are you doing?" He grinned, and then picked up a huge tree branch, examining the power lines in front of him. "I'm selling candles. You might want to stand back."

"Come again -" But I realized what he was doing and grabbed Mary Margaret, forcing her to the floor of the roof just as Leroy jabbed the power box with his tree branch, causing the entire thing to erupt in a massive explosion of sparks. Then the lights all flickered incredibly bright, and died.

I stood, brushing myself off and raising an eyebrow at the janitor, who was the last person I would've expected to go to such lengths for charity. "Good plan," I admitted grudgingly, and Leroy smiled proudly, glancing at the darkened square.

Mary Margaret was watching it, too, and smiling broadly. She glanced over at me, beaming, and said quietly, "Lindsey - I think we might need some help to get the candles out fast enough."

I grinned back at her, silently vowing never to tell her about the 'fille de joie' remark - ever. "My pleasure, Mary Margaret."

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so I am really sorry about the uneventful-ness of this chapter, but I knew that Lindsey would want to be investigating the Kathryn Nolan case, but they didn't really show tons of it in this episode. Also, I skipped 'What Happened to Frederic' because I have never liked that episode. I mean, I understand it was important to the plot, but I've just never liked it. Whereas 'Dreamy' has always been one of my favourites. :) **

**But we met Simon! Well, sort-of-Simon - Siren!Simon, I suppose. His role in Maeve's life will be explained later, as will her father and mother. Wow, I continually forget how much stuff I'm leaving out until after season one. :( Sorry about that, guys. **

**On the upside, I have a ton of thank-yous to give! :) So a special thanks to GracefulReader, beautifulgreek523, emtyler01 and newty01 for favourite-ing, as well as following. And a massive thank you to everyone who is reading this fic! You're all wonderful flowers, so . . . yeah. Thanks. .**

**I will get right on the next chapter as soon as I post this one (as I typically do) and hope to have it up soon - although I do have a history project due Tuesday, so there might be a short delay on this next update. Sorry! Things are about to pick up significantly in the story, and I hope you're all ready for all lot of sass and King-George-hate - because I am. A lot. I despise that guy. :) **

**Remember to favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Reviews are greatly appreciated, because I really want to know what you all think of the fic and where it's going. Until next time! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	14. Red-Handed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, only my own OCs. :) Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"I'm not going to say anything, you know."

I was sitting on the edge of a chair in Archie Hopper's office. That's right: I was seeing a shrink. Although it wasn't at all of my own free will - in fact, I'd had to be threatened into going that dreaded Sunday afternoon.

Archie was sitting across from me on another chair, watching me through small round spectacles with that same expression of patient sympathy that he'd been wearing for the past ten minutes. I had nothing against Archie = in fact, I rather liked him under normal circumstances. But once he got his shrink on, there was no shortage of frustration for me to direct at him. I'd spent the entire session so far trying not to smack him.

"And why is that, Lindsey? Because I've been thinking about your various issues with trust." He adjusted his glasses and glanced down at his notebook, which sat on his lap; I'd tried to read his notes on me earlier, but cursive was hell to read upside-down.

I crossed my arms over my chest, fuming. "You know why - I told you during the first damn session. I don't like being psychoanalyzed, and even more importantly: _there's nothing wrong with me_."

Archie smiled sympathetically again, and I bit back an angry remark. "I understand that you want to keep your thoughts private, Lindsey - most people do. But I'm really trying to help you here. I know that there's nothing wrong with you -"

"Then why am I here?"

"Because people who care about you were concerned for your health -"

I cut him off, shaking my head. "Incorrect. It's because people I trusted betrayed me and went behind my back in order to fix a problem that DOESN'T EXIST."

"Is that truly how you feel?" I let out a frustrated sigh, exasperated beyond belief.

"Yes! That's kind of why I said it."

The shrink nodded, scribbling down something else. "Ruby told me about your notebook." My breath caught sharply in my throat and my eyes widened; how the hell could she do that?! "Would you mind bringing it in for our next session?"

"Yes," I said curtly. "I would mind. It's private, and I can't believe Ruby told you about it in the first place. I also fail to see how my diary is relevant to this non-existent issue." I throw in the word 'diary' for effect: perhaps he'll be less comfortable reading about all my sixth-grade crushes as opposed to my mentally-unstable emo poetry, or whatever else Archie thinks he'll find in it.

He said nothing, just stared at me, and I got the message: he was not asking. I was expected to bring the notebook in. Well, tough - I wasn't just going to hand it over to prove my insanity.

"See you then," I said flatly, standing and marching furiously out of the room as soon as the clock hit the fifteen-minute-mark. Archie waved happily, and for a moment I was even angrier because I would never be able to talk to him normally again. Then my annoyance faded and I stalked out of the building, headed straight for Granny's.

* * *

"One camomile tea, and one cranberry muffin." Granny set the food down in front of me, and I smiled gratefully at her. She'd been amazing during my fight with Ruby, and had taken it upon herself to give me my orders instead of having her granddaughter do it.

"Thank you," I said, and she just smiled and walked off towards the end of the counter where I sat, and began writing in a binder.

I looked down at the muffin and then took a huge bite, chewing mournfully; ever since I was a kid, eating anything with sugar had always calmed me down from a rage.

"What are lemurs?" I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Ruby standing in front of August Booth's table, smiling down at the handsome stranger. I scowled and took another bite of muffin: sometimes I really hated my best friend.

"Ruby!" Granny was calling her over and, after a few more minutes of August explaining lemurs and Granny yelling, Ruby finally walked over to her grandmother, looking annoyed. "What?"

The two had a hushed argument before their voices started getting louder. "Is this punishment? For talking to that guy?" She glanced back at August, who awkwardly went back to his pie.

"If I was punishing you, I'd have better reasons than that: for one, you were late. For another, _Eliza, _you dress like a drag-queen during fleet-week." I suppressed a snort at that remark.

"And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates' mother!" Ruby retorted angrily, seething. I glanced over at August to see that he was hiding a laugh as well; he tossed me a conspiratorial wink and the muffin must've been working its magic, because I winked back.

"You need to stop acting like some kid, and start being responsible!" Granny shouted back, and Ruby glared in response.

"I am responsible! I show up for work, I help pay the rent - recently I helped Lindsey get into therapy, for God's sake! That's responsible!" She glanced over at me, but I stared coldly back, shaking my head.

"Let's announce it to the goddamn world," I said sarcastically, noticing the suspicious stares I was receiving from everyone in the diner.

"I didn't ask to work here!" They were still arguing.

"Then what's keeping you?!"

"Nothing! I quit!" I looked up, shocked, as Ruby untied her apron and marched right through the diner's front door, slamming it closed behind her. The diner fell silent at this event, and everyone's eyes were on Granny and I. We exchanged a brief glance of bafflement and worry.

"Well, that happened," I said to the silent diner.

* * *

_Bright red eyes glowed through the darkness, watching me as I crept across the crunching snow. I cringed at how frustratingly loud my footsteps seemed, and tip-toed up against the wall of trees._

_A growl tore itself out of the wolf's throat, and I felt it shake my bones as the massive creature lowered its head, glaring up at me in an offensive position. It was huge: maybe ten feet long, one paw being big enough to cover my entire head and crush it like a grape. _

_"Good puppy," I said quietly, backing into the woods. "Nice puppy. Let's avoid the homicide tonight, okay? Good puppy." I was nearly there; if I could make it far enough into the trees before the wolf lunged, I could potentially slip away. My chances weren't very good, but at least they would go to awful from non-existent._

_"Calm - good puppy. You're a good puppy, right? Good . . . no killing, no maiming, just growling . . . good pup- no! No! BAD DOG!" I screamed as the wolf leapt forwards, its paws aimed right at my torso: I would be slashed to ribbons._

_I rolled to the side, the snow sending shivers down my spine at it slipped into the back of my cloak. Sprinting forwards, I quickly dodged two more strikes at my back. The wolf howled then, and jumped right over my head and landed in front of me, growling lowly and glaring at me with its demonic red eyes._

_"Shit."_

_It lunged again, and would've clamped its jaws around my neck if I hadn't darted to the side. Running into the forest, my heart beating wildly in my chest, I was seriously pissed._

_A wolf. It was just an overgrown dog, and I couldn't kill it. I was Lady freaking Scarlet, one of the most feared murderers in all of the Enchanted Forest, known in nearly every realm in existence - and I couldn't kill a goddamned dog._

_I stopped running, ducking behind a thick oak tree and listening for the wolf's footsteps. I was going to wound it at least, kill it at the most. But I would not sprint off with my tail between my legs like a pathetic coward. I would not run._

_"Come on, then!" I stepped out from behind the tree, daggers in hand, stubbornness the only thing forcing me to move. "Have a go if you think you're hard enough."_

_The wolf came stalking out of the shadows, its red eyes glaring into mine as it circled me. I spun around, moving just as it lunged at me, and sinking one of my daggers into its back. It cried out in pain, and I grinned; finally, something productive. But then the creature shook me off furiously, tossing me into a nearby evergreen. I crumpled to the ground, my head aching horrifically. _

_Stumbling to my feet, I glanced over at the wolf, who was licking the deep gash I'd made in its shoulder. When it saw me stand, it growled angrily, and my lips quirked up into a smirk. "Let's go, rover."_

_The wolf howled again and rushed at me, baring its fangs as it leapt through the air; I hurried to the side, circling around a tree trunk and back around as it landed. I pitched one of my daggers forward and it embedded itself in the wolf's side, causing the creature to howl in agony. But then it ripped the blade out with its teeth, tossing it in the snow before me with a deep growl._

_I picked up the dagger, sheathing both of them, and ran like a bat out of hell. So much for stubbornness._

* * *

I sat in the police station, glowering at Ruby, who was sitting in a chair next to the desk where Henry was on the computer, searching for a job for my ex-best-friend.

"Are you ever going to talk to me?" she demanded furiously. I just sat there, glaring coldly, and she turned her attention back to the computer screen, although she continued giving me furtive glances every few seconds. I hadn't spoken to her the entire morning that she'd been at the Sheriff's station; the only thing I'd given her were cold stares and angry shakes of the head.

She was the one who had gone behind my back a week previously and told Caroline about my nightmares, and the insomnia, and everything she knew. That made me a) furious with Ruby, who I had trusted, b) extra-patient with Caroline, who was doing some champion-worrying now, and c) glad that I hadn't told her everything. Ruby had no clue about what my nightmares were actually about, or my suspicions of suppressed memories.

I was beginning to sound a lot like Henry in my mind.

"What about a bike messenger?" Henry asked Ruby, clicking on the next option. She questioned what a bike messenger was - _idiot, _I thought mutinously - and Henry quickly explained.

"Can't. Not so great at bike riding."

"Or secret-keeping," I added flatly, glaring at the older girl. "Don't pick anything where people need to trust her. She might let slip one of their darkest secrets to the last person on earth they'd ever want it to be told to." Ruby glanced at me angrily, and Henry just looked uncomfortable.

"What about someone who takes things to people on foot in a little basket?" he suggested.

Ruby shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not so sure that's a real thing. And why do the phones keep doing that?" She looked pointedly at the phone on the desk, which had been ringing for the last ten minutes straight.

"Non-emergency calls go to voice-mail when Emma's busy," Henry explained as I loudly turned a page in my notebook. I had a list of theories concerning the Kathryn Nolan disappearance on one side and potential suspects on the other.

Ruby picked up the phone. "Sheriff's station, how can I help you?" She said something else into the phone before hanging up. Then it rang again and she answered again, much to my annoyance; she didn't work there, I did.

"Miss Ginger? Oh, that's not a prowler - that's Archie's dog, Pongo." My glare intensified at the mention of Archie Hopper. "Toss him a vanilla wafer and he'll quiet down." She hung up again.

"Know Archie well, hmm?" I asked coldly, and Ruby blushed.

"Hey, you three," Emma said, coming up from behind my seat. She tossed me a glance that said 'cut-her-some-slack', and I just shook my head once and firmly. Forget it. "How's it going?"

"Fine, except I can't do anything," Ruby replied mournfully, and I rolled my eyes.

"No, what you did on the phone - that was great! You know," she added thoughtfully. "I've got some money in the budget if you want to help out around here."

Ruby immediately leapt out of her seat, grinning broadly, and said, "Yes! Oh, please yes - I could clean up, organize files. I just want to be helpful." Emma looked delighted by her response and said, "I am swamped with the Kathryn Nolan thing. If you could grab us lunch, I would never say no to a grilled cheese."

"Done!" Ruby was beaming, and turned to Henry as she picked up her purse. "You want anything, kid?"

Henry paused as if thinking it over before saying, "Two chocolate chip cookies, half a pie, and a hot dog." Ruby laughed softly, and I almost joined it before I remembered I was pissed at her. She glanced at me and said, "You want anything, Linds?"

"No," I said coldly. "I'm fine."

She looked a bit deflated as she left the station, but before Emma could yell at me for being a bitch or I could yell at Emma for hiring my ex-best-friend, Mary Margaret burst into the room looking breathless and incredibly terrified.

"It's David," she said, looking from Emma to me and back again. "He's in the woods."

"What?" Emma and I said together.

"I tried to talk to him, but he just looked right through me. It was like - like he was a different person." Mary Margaret sighed, glancing down at her feet before meeting our eyes.

"Not good," I said. "Wandering around the woods like a lunatic, in a mindless haze? Definitely not good."

Ten minutes later, Ruby walked back into the station with a brown paper bag, saying, "Here's your grilled cheese." She set it on the desk and sighed, looking dismal. Granny must've said something on her lunch run; then I remembered I didn't care, because I was ticked at her. I shoved any sympathy far away from myself.

"Here," Emma was saying, packing the lunch back up. "I need to do a wilderness search, and I need your help."

"Her help?" I demanded, annoyed. "I can help!"

Emma shot me a look. "I know, Linds. But we need everyone we can get in order to get David back safely, right?" She glared at me, silently saying 'agree with me or I will strangle you in this very room'. I sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"I'm probably just going to screw it up," Ruby muttered, downcast.

I nodded again, this time far more enthusiastically. "See, Emma? She doesn't want to come."

Emma shook her head. "Ruby, Lindsey: car. Now."

* * *

_"That story you told . . ." The voices were coming from several yards away, drifting through the frigid night air towards me. My eyebrows drew together in confusion: I knew that voice from somewhere._

_"That was her grandfather," the other voice replied; it was someone much older than the first. Both were definitely female. "He marked me that night - came back, turned me."_

_"Turned you?" Suddenly the distant footsteps stopped. "Granny, how are you tracking Red?"_

_The next comment increased my confusion ten-fold. "By smell. The rest has faded with time, but I still have that."_

_I was traipsing through the woods surrounding the wolf-plagued village, my bow in hand, a full quiver slung across my back. I was armed much more than usual, but that seemed appropriate given my previous encounter with my current prey: this wolf was far more dangerous than I would've guessed._

_But why would someone else be wandering around in the woods at night? The townspeople didn't even condone it during the day, when it was light out. In the dark, it was far more dangerous. And in wolfstime - well, no townspeople would be quite that idiotic._

_I crept forwards, keeping my fingers wrapped tightly around my bowstring, an arrow already notched. Aiming would be no problem if I needed to shoot - and hopefully it would be a one-shot kind of kill if it came to that. Murdering townsfolk was nothing new to me, but murdering townsfolk messily was - in my experience - a pain in the ass. _

_I leapt out of the trees, my arrow aimed straight at the heart of the slender girl before me: she gasped, huge green eyes wide and her black hair a bit frizzy from the cold and wind. I froze, baffled._

_"Frosty?" _

_The girl scowled. "That's not my name." She hesitated and I raised my eyebrows, silently daring her to say it. "Lady Scarlet." The other figure - a shorter, plump old woman with a crossbow - gasped, only quieter than Snow White._

_"Lady Scarlet?" She looked petrified, and I rolled my eyes. "Don't panic, I'm not here for you."_

_The woman sighed in relief, and I continued. "I'm here for the wolf."_

_Her eyes hardened into a glare colder than the night air as she said stiffly, "You do not want to do that." Snow White stepped forward, looking at me imploringly. "Please, Lady Scarlet - spare the wolf. It isn't what you think it to be."_

_"What the hell does that mean?" I demanded, confused. _

_"It's a girl - Red. She's trapped inside the wolf every full moon, and she doesn't know what she's doing when under the enchantment. We have a way to break it." In explanation, Snow held up a bright red cloak that I assumed belonged to this mysterious 'Red'. _

_I shook my head stubbornly. "It'd be far easier to just kill her, wouldn't it?"_

_The elderly woman suddenly aimed her crossbow at me, and I switched my arrow from Snow White to her. "You will not touch my granddaughter."_

_"And you will not aim a goddamn crossbow at me!" I retorted angrily; I wasn't used to having people challenge me so blatantly. If I wasn't so hell-bent on killing the wolf, then I might have admired the woman's courage, as she didn't flinch away from my arrow's aim._

_"Lady Scarlet, please," Snow begged. "Let us break the enchantment. You don't have to kill anyone today? Haven't you ended enough lives?" The hint of disgust in her voice did not go amiss, although I did opt to ignore it._

_"I've spared you two," I said flatly. "Isn't that enough for now?"_

_Suddenly, Snow was running at me as she said to the older woman, "Go to Red! Save her!" The other woman hurried up the path with her crossbow as Snow White leapt at me, throwing me to the ground and landing on top of me._

_"You're very pretty, Frosty, but I'm not interested," I said sarcastically as Snow moved to sit on top of my stomach. I struggled underneath her, but she shook her head. "You aren't going anywhere. I won't let you kill her!"_

* * *

"It's massive in here, how are we going to find one guy?"

"Just keep walking, and be quiet," Emma replied to Ruby shortly, and I knew the Sheriff was trying her hardest to be nice. Ruby had been grumbling the entire time we were in the forest, searching for David.

"We're following the bootprints," I said. "No shit. And shut up, Ruby - we might be able to hear him." Emma gave me a reproachful glance, but I was beyond reason; I was pissed at Ruby and she already knew that, so there was no point in sugar-coating anything.

"How? It's massive," she said again, and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know, just try and -" Suddenly I slammed into Ruby's back, Emma walking straight into me, as the other girl simply stopped moving in the middle of the trail. I shoved at her angrily, trying to get her to move. "God, what's wrong now?"

"I can hear him," she said quietly, shocked; I was fairly surprised, too. At first I thought she was kidding, to prove her point - which was a stupid point, I thought stubbornly - but she looked incredibly serious.

"I know where he is," she continued, and began running in a whole different direction. "Don't you?" She was sprinting now, and Emma and I exchanged a worried glance.

"Uh - no, I don't," Emma called back, and we followed Ruby deeper into the woods.

"Emma! Lindsey! I found him - come quick!" Emma and I sprinted through a grove of evergreens to find Ruby on the other side, kneeling next to a very unconscious David Nolan. Emma dropped to her knees next to him and shook him awake, whispering, "Come on, David, come on!"

His blue eyes flew open and he coughed a bit, slowly sitting up. "What the hell happened?"

Emma froze, baffled. "You don't know what happened after you talked to me last night?"

David shook his head. "No. I - I don't."

* * *

_The girl, Red, was wrapped tightly in her red cloak, her eyes rimmed with pink. "What happened? What?" She was shaking all over, although it probably had nothing to do with the cold._

_"Peter wasn't the wolf." Snow White looked sympathetically at the girl, who in turn looked horrified. I personally was frustrated with everyone in the damn clearing._

_"Let's go, wolf girl, we haven't got time to stay and chat!" I hissed furiously, grabbing Red by the wrist and pulling her into the forest with Snow right behind us. "You're damn lucky I'm not killing you on the spot."_

_Snow had convinced me to spare Red; I had agreed to go with them, help the two girls escape the village. I wasn't exactly the sort to protect the innocents, but traveling with a she-wolf and a wanted bandit could make for one hell of an adventure, and I was growing bored of the small towns along the mainland. The coast was exactly where we were headed._

_"Peter," Red sobbed quietly, and I sighed and stopped running, turning around to face her. I roughly tilted the girl's chin up so that she met my gaze._

_"Listen to me," I said intently. "I get it, you're upset. By God, you should be. But wasting your time is going to get you caught and killed, and I highly doubt the love of your life would've wanted that."_

_Red jerked away from me, more tears trickling down her face. "I killed him! I loved him - and I killed him!"_

_"I did, too!" I yelled furiously, not certain why I was saying anything to this girl at all. "I killed the goddamn love of my life as well - but, unlike you, I wasn't fortunate enough to have him love me back. He lied, and betrayed me, and for that I murdered him! Just be grateful that this Peter bloke truly loved you in return!" I was breathing heavily, glaring at the young girl, who wasn't moving as she stared at me in shock._

_Maybe it was the sight of her lover's mangled corpse, or maybe it was because of the siren only a few months before bringing back unwanted memories, but all I could do was think about him now: Simon. Running his hands through the ends of my hair, kissing me on the forehead, telling me that he loved me. _

_"You had it," I said, my voice a hoarse whisper now. "You're lucky to have had it, Red."_

_And without another word I headed off into the forest, and could hear both Red and Snow White follow behind me. _

* * *

"And you're sure she said the toll bridge?" Ruby and I were sitting in Emma's yellow Bug, staring down at the river below. I couldn't help but think about finding David's body there, all those months ago. It feels like just yesterday.

"Yes, Linds, I'm sure." Ruby sounded annoyed, but I did, too, so I didn't press it.

We climbed out of the Bug and down to the riverbank, which was littered with stones and sand and - nothing else. Nothing suspicious. Ruby glanced around, and I kicked a rock around for a moment while she conferred with Emma. I felt a pang of annoyance: I was the bloody intern. I should've been the one conferring with the Sheriff.

"What about this?" I said, toeing a piece of construction wood. Ruby shrugged and flipped it over, revealing fresh earth beneath. I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"If you won't dig, then I will," I snapped, kneeling down and reaching my gloved hands into the dirt. But Ruby jabbed through it with a stick and I moved out of the way, frustrated. Suddenly, there was a sharp crack as the stick hit something metallic.

Slowly, Ruby reached down into the displaced dirt and pulled out a -

"Jewellery box?" I asked, baffled. Why would David Nolan be burying jewellery in the middle of the woods during a coma-induced blackout?

"No idea," Ruby replied, hesitantly unlocking the box's latch. When she opened it, however, she let out the most horrified scream I'd ever heard a human being make. Chills ran through my bones as she dropped the box to the ground, trembling.

"Ruby?" I asked, worried. She just shook her head, terror and disgust etched into her face. I bit my lip and picked the box up, convinced that it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was. Ruby was just being Ruby - melodramatic.

"Holy crap!" I slammed the box's lid shut, surprise racing through me. I tentatively lifted the lid once more and peered inside, resisting the urge to vomit.

Inside the box was a pale, bloodless human heart.

* * *

**Author's Note: Dun dun-dun-dun-DUN! :D I actually never got that grossed out by Kathryn's heart being in the box, but I suppose being insane kind of helps with that . . . :/ Not sure. Anyway, sorry if Lindsey seems kind of bitchy in this chapter, but I promise her and Ruby will make up soon! I just needed her to see Archie, and Caroline had to know about the nightmares for that to happen, so . . . yeah. Ta-da! Ruby's betrayal was borne from necessity. Also, we heard more about the mysterious Simon who, by the way, is a total asshat when you find out about how that story ended. It's not happily ever after, I can tell you that much, and it's kind of Maeve's tipping-point before becoming Lady Scarlet. Not exactly a feel-good story, but once again necessary to her character's backstory. Also, in a mere two chapters you will discover Maeve's father! **

**So, a special thank you to Kira Tsumi for reviewing and following, and AbnormalMinds for favourite-ing and following. And once again a massive thanks to everyone who reads this fic! You're all amazing, and thanks for putting up with my crappy writing. :)**

**I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, although considering how little I've gotten done for my homework lately, it'll probably have a slight delay. Until next time, lovelies! :)**

**Remember to favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say! I love hearing from you guys, so please review. ;)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	15. Heart of Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters or similar dialogue. Just my own OCs and any dialogue not in the show. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Frowning at my bedroom wall, I twirled a black Sharpie in my fingers thoughtfully. This was becoming incredibly difficult.

"Lindsey? Lindsey, I need you to - whoa." Emma walked into my bedroom behind me, and gasped as soon as she stepped through the door. "Linds, what the hell is that?"

I shrugged, still glaring at the wall. "It's my thinking wall, I guess. Took me most of last night and much of this morning, but I think I'm finally getting somewhere with this case."

Emma came to stand beside me, and we both stared at the wall, her in astonishment and me in annoyance. The purple paint of my wall was almost completely obscured beneath the papers and photographs and sticky notes that covered it. My handwriting was sprinkled here and there, with arrows connecting specific pages. The Sheriff glanced around my room, which was kind of a mess: my blankets were everywhere, papers were strewn across my dresser and the floor, and take-out containers decorated the windowsill next to me. I picked up my fifth cup of coffee, ignoring my jittery hands, and took a sip, still staring at the 'thinking wall'.

"Have you slept at all?" Emma demanded, sitting on my bed. She picked up an open file folder and flipped through its contents, which was mostly Kathryn Nolan's recent credit card statements and bills. She raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged again, still concentrating on the wall, not bothering to explain how I'd gotten those documents.

"Not really; I kind of spent the past twelve hours finding every document that's ever existed that I could link to Kathryn." This was incredibly true: I'd printed out emails, bank statements, even a copy of her Facebook profile, searching for a motive other than Mary Margaret's.

"Linds - you need to come down to the station. Now. Mary Margaret's interview is in ten minutes, and Regina's gonna be there." I glanced over at her, baffled. "No time to explain, just come with me." And with that, Emma grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my room. I dropped the Sharpie on my way out, and pulled on my combat boots at the door.

Five minutes later, we were walking Mary Margaret into the interrogation room, where Regina Mills sat, waiting. She smiled up at us and said, "Hello, Miss Blanchard."

"What is she doing here?" Mary Margaret looked confused and a little more nervous now, and I understood: Regina would do everything she could to make her seem as guilty as possible. I still couldn't understand why, but Mayor Mills despised Mary Margaret, possibly even more than she hated Emma Swan.

"She's here as a third party, to make sure I stay impartial," Emma explained, not looking happy about this as she took her seat next to Regina. I remained standing, leaning against the wall and glaring at Regina.

"I don't understand why Miss Welles is here," Regina remarked, tossing me a disdainful glance.

"I'm an intern, I'm staying. Get over it." I crossed my arms over my chest and Regina sighed, as if my presence was nothing but irritating for her. With an eye roll, Emma began the questions.

"The heart was found buried near the old toll bridge," Emma said, pressing the red button on a recorder that she had on the table. "It appears to have cut out with a hunting knife." Mary Margaret closed her eyes for a moment, looking mildly disgusted by this fact. "Have you ever been to the toll bridge?"

She nodded. "Yes. It's where David and I liked to meet." It didn't sound as if she particularly wanted to talk about David Nolan - especially in front of Regina - but she managed to respond without too much anger.

"Mr Nolan," Emma said, standing and unlocking the evidence cabinet behind Mary Margaret's seat. "Why were you two meeting?" I bit my lip to keep from saying something as Regina gave Mary Margaret a triumphant glance.

"We were having an affair. I'm not proud of what I did," she added, directing this at Regina. "But that does not change the fact that I didn't kill Kathryn."

Emma pulled something out of the evidence locker: the box Ruby and I had discovered by the toll bridge. She placed it on the table before Mary Margaret and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

The woman looked shocked then replied, "Y-yes. That's my jewellery box. How did you -"

"This is what we found the heart in," I said, worried. Her jewellery box? Oh, dear God, Regina was not going to let that slip by easily - or at all. The mayor was smiling as if she'd just uncovered something fantastic and couldn't wait to take advantage.

"But - don't you see what's happening here?" Mary Margaret sounded a little desperate, although I understood. She was being framed for homicide, after all. "Somebody stole that to make it seem like I did it! I didn't kill Kathryn."

Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone in the room, Regina reached forward and held Mary Margaret's hand. "Miss Blanchard, I understand," she said, her voice patronizing. "I've lost people, too. Having your heart broken . . . well, it can leave you in a dark place."

Mary Margaret yanked her hand back indignantly, her eyes brimming with fury. "I haven't changed. And I did not kill Kathryn Nolan."

"A word in the hall, Madam Mayor," I said flatly, glaring at Regina. She turned around and raised her eyebrows at me, but Emma nodded and we both stalked into the hall with Regina trailing after us. "What?"

"What the hell was that?" I demanded quietly, trying not to let Mary Margaret hear me through the interrogation room's window.

"That was proper interrogation technique," Regina hissed, staring down at me with an unwavering hatred, and my glare faltered for a moment; I'd known Regina disliked me, but hate was a bit extreme. However, that was unmistakably what she felt towards me at that moment.

"No, that was uncalled for," Emma retorted, stepping between us before either party could start throwing punches. "She didn't do it."

"Then who did? If someone stole her box, as she claims, then there would be signs of a break-in. You're her roommate; tell me, Sheriff, has there been a break-in?"

Emma paused, then said stubbornly, "It wasn't her."

"And why are you so sure about that?" Regina looked at Emma, her gaze intent. "She is a woman who's had her heart broken, Miss Swan. That can make a person do unspeakable things."

* * *

_"Well, of course she's changed! It took away her love."_

_Rumplestiltskin gave Grumpy an exasperated glance as he finished his straw-spinning. His gaze flitted to Snow White, who was peering at the various potions and odd artifacts strewn across the nearby table. He felt a pang of annoyance; he disliked people going through his belongings._

_"Then bring her back!" Rumple raised an eyebrow at the dwarf before him, his irritation growing. He leaned in closer and said, "I can't. The person she was before - there's no way to bring her back."_

_Grumpy looked incredibly frustrated, but Rumple couldn't care less: he was rather delighted by the opportunity this situation presented. Snow White being as heartless as she was, could easily take out his two birds with one stone - or dwarf pick-axe. _

_He waltzed over to the ex-princess, who was still examining a phial of glowing green liquid, and tapped her on the shoulder. "I can, however, help you. That isn't why you're here, dearie; you don't want to change back. You want help seeking your revenge."_

_Snow nodded, finally perking up. "Yes. I need your help to sneak into the castle."_

_Rumple grinned maniacally and held out his hand, in which a sheet of parchment appeared with a small puff of gray smoke. "No, dearie - that's impossible. But this map will show you exactly where to go to ambush the Queen's carriage. There will also be a spot on the way, where you can retrieve a weapon."_

_"What - the pick-axe from the dwarf mines not good enough?"_

_Rumple shook his head. "You need something far more subtle. The bow that never misses its target will suffice - it is currently in the possession of a young woman by the name of Lady Scarlet. Perhaps you know her?"_

_Grumpy suddenly hurried forwards, shaking his head adamantly. "Snow, you can't be serious. Lady Scarlet? You'll be killed for sure!"_

_Snow just nodded at Rumple, taking the map and tucking it inside her cloak. "Thank you, Dark One. What do I owe you?"_

_Rumple laughed, this time with actual humor. "Oh, nothing much. I just need you to do me a small favour on your journey: when you go to retrieve the bow from Lady Scarlet . . . kill her."_

* * *

Henry and I were sitting at the counter in Granny's, with my notebook open in front of me and notes on everything involving the Kathryn Nolan case scribbled in the lines. There didn't seem to be enough lines.

Ruby sprinkled some cinnamon on top of Henry's hot chocolate, as well as mine, and tossed the kid a 'cheer-up' sort of smile. She then looked at me, and I looked at her, and there was a long awkward pause before she gave me the same smile. I bit my lip, wanting to say something, but soon Ruby was flouncing away in her heels, in the direction of her grandmother's voice.

"And that's all your theories," Henry said for the third time, glancing over my list. I nodded, sighing. They were all pretty crappy - some of them simply laughable - but at least they were there. I had about ten theories in total, that didn't at all involve Mary Margaret. That was something, right?

"It'll be alright, kid," I said quietly, simultaneously trying to convince myself. "Mary Margaret is innocent - it won't be long 'til people figure that out."

Henry nodded silently, staring sadly at his hot chocolate. I took a small sip of mine before scrawling something else in the margin of my current page: 'all signs point to psychopath or mental instability within killer'. Hacking out a heart with a hunting knife, and then stealing someone else's jewellery box to bury that heart in the woods outside of town screamed insanity.

"I don't think that hot chocolate's going to drink itself." I glanced over my shoulder and saw August W. Booth striding over to us and sliding into the seat beside Henry. I raised an eyebrow at the man, who grinned at me.

"You're upset about Miss Blanchard, aren't you?" The question seemed harmless enough, although August had a way of making even that sound suspicious.

"She didn't do it," Henry muttered, taking a sip of hot chocolate. I did the same, welcoming the warmth; everything seemed far too cold for almost-spring.

"I know that, but other people only see what's right in front of them. Besides, I doubt you'll find any answers in the bottom of that mug." This remark piqued my curiosity, and I leaned closer to mysterious typewriter guy. He may have been overly sardonic, but he also seemed to know quite a bit, and anything to clear Mary Margaret's name was welcome.

"Where?" I asked, a bit too hurriedly.

August raised an eyebrow and nodded to Henry's bag, which sat on the counter. "In his book."

Henry looked shocked - almost as shocked as I felt - before saying, "It's just a book."

"Really?" August smiled conspiratorially as Ruby handed him a glass of water. "Because I'm pretty sure that you and I both know that's not true." Henry was almost smiling now, but I gently put my head down on the counter. August's brilliant solution was to read Henry's book of fairy tales?

"I know the stories are true," he was saying quietly to the kid; I sighed, blowing coppery strands of hair out of my face. He was a lunatic, and I couldn't keep listening to his words. I shifted down the counter, disappointed, and Ruby appeared in front of me.

"Linds," she said quickly, as if unable to get the words out fast enough. "I'm sorry I told Caroline. I was just worried about you, and I knew the nightmares were taking their toll, and I thought you seriously needed some help with -"

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

She blinked, taken aback, and said slowly, "W-why?"

I shrugged, putting my face in my hands. "I was a bitch," I whispered through my fingers. "I'm sorry, Ruby. You're my best friend, and I just - I was scared. And I hate being scared, and Caroline knowing, it just -" I stopped, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. "I'm just sorry."

Ruby lifted my chin, smiling, and said quietly, "You're my best friend, Linds. I was worried, but I shouldn't have gone behind your back."

I smiled back at her, and relaxed a little bit, although my thoughts drifted inadvertently back to my notebook and the Kathryn Nolan case. "This damn case is impossible."

"What?" Ruby looked mockingly surprised, holding a hand to her lips as she gasped. "The great Lindsey Welles can't figure out a mystery? By God, it's a sign of the apocalypse!" I snorted and shook my head, muttering, "Dork." Ruby grinned.

"It's honestly so hard to prove anything. Obviously Mary Margaret is innocent, but _where's the freaking proof_?!" I sighed again, pressing my fingers to my forehead. "This sucks."

"Have you slept at all lately?" Ruby asked, and I shrugged. "A rough estimate? Ten hours over the past three days." She pursed her lips, looking thoughtful, before saying, "You need a break."

"What?"

"No, listen, Linds - the Murphys' party is next weekend, and you are coming with me!" I groaned, but Ruby wouldn't budge so, after five more minutes of arguing, I relented.

"What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

_"The Queen's coming through this way in two days."_

_Word traveled fast in small towns, and I just so happened to be sitting in a local tavern when such news reached the hamlet of Cavendish. Only a handful of people were still in the tavern at around three in the morning, and all of them were gossip-fiends, whom I despised. Those people were the reason I'd been stuck with the title 'Lady Scarlet', which I mostly hated due to its unpleasant reminder of my lineage._

_But this gossip was something I was quite interested in; as soon as the words 'Queen' and 'this way' were spoken, I'd stood and moved closer to the cluster of people talking. None of them paid me any attention, which I was grateful for: if they'd recognized me, I never would've heard anything about Regina Mills' approach. _

_After leaving the tavern to head back to the inn, I felt hands wrap around me and fling me into a narrow ginnel. Out of the shadows of the alleyway walked the last person I'd expected to see, a pick-axe slung over her shoulder and a determined glint in her eyes._

_"Let's talk, Lady Scarlet," Snow White said, smirking. _

* * *

"I have proof."

Henry and I were sitting in the stairwell of Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment, as the Sheriff walked up the steps.

"I thought you were watching him!" Emma said, glancing at me in reproach.

"I was watching him - but this kid is freaking hard to keep track of!" I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance. It was true: Henry, after his conversation with August, had immediately dragged me off to Regina's office to steal something. He seemed to think it was cool that I knew how to pick her lock. I was concerned about the kid's definition of 'cool' - I may have had the same one, but that didn't make it a good thing.

Emma sighed, frustrated, as Henry held up a ring of skeleton keys. "It's this. This is how my mom framed Miss Blanchard."

"Did you steal these from Regina's office?" Emma demanded, taking the keys from him. Henry nodded, and she tossed me a questioning glance. I held my hands up in defense. "Hey, he was the one who convinced me to pick the lock."

"Just try them," Henry said earnestly, taking the keys back from his mum and hurrying to the apartment door, where he proceeded to test the skeleton keys. "It'll work. I'll prove it."

"Kid, it's not working," I said quietly, and Henry shook his head, determined. "It has to."

"Just let me try one more!" Emma nodded reluctantly, and he held out one key to her, saying, "You do it. Use this one."

Emma sighed, taking the key from him and inserting it into the lock. "See, kid? It doesn't work because it -" The lock clicked. The door swung open. The three of us stood there in shock, gaping at the open doorway.

"You were saying?" Henry said, grinning proudly.

* * *

_"Frosty. How've you been?" I smirked, although pain was lancing through my skull from where Snow had thrown me against the ground._

_The ex-princess stood over me, resting her hands on the hilt of her axe, and said, "Good, good. I lost my true love, and now I'm off to kill the queen."_

_I raised my eyebrows sardonically. "Productive day, then, isn't it, sweetheart?"_

_Snow nodded absently before whispering menacingly, "Give me the bow, Scarlet." I wrinkled my nose. "You know, I've always hated that name." _

_"The bow." I realized that she wasn't going to let that topic go; I sighed, reluctantly saying, "Not on me, Frosty, though you're welcome to search me if you'd like." I winked, and Snow rolled her eyes. "Not interested."_

_"Pity, that," I murmured, slowly inching away from her, my hand going to my dagger. But before I could so much as unsheathe the blade, Snow's pick-axe was level with my throat. I glanced down at the weapon and snorted. "Dwarf's axe, hmm? Still holed up with that lot, are we?"_

_Snow pressed the axe's blade further, breaking the skin just above my collarbone; a warm trickle of blood began to pool in my collar. "Just tell me where the bow is." Obviously she assumed I would be intimidated by the axe. I was impressed - just not scared._

_"Is it in your room?" she asked quietly, and I froze. Shit. "Thought so. I'm sorry, Lady Scarlet." Though she didn't sound particularly sorry before slamming the hilt of the axe into my skull. Everything around me faded to shadows._

* * *

"I've got a load of theories, and now some of them make sense," I said happily, flipping open the first of my stack of file folders on Emma's desk. "Thanks to you, actually, Henry." The kid smiled proudly.

"Suspects?" Henry asked. I leaned back in my chair, thinking.

"Well, Regina, obviously," I said, scribbling down the mayor's name.

"Yeah . . . " He looked saddened by that, and I remembered that she was still his mom. I quickly added, "Just for framing Miss Blanchard, though. The person who killed Kathryn is probably just some psychopath living in the woods or something." This idea didn't seem to cheer Henry up.

"I'd like to talk to that gym teacher, actually," I said, dragging a highlighter across the man's name in my list of suspects. "What was he doing, just driving up and down the town border in the middle of the night? It's just . . . suspicious." Henry nodded absently.

"Bad news," Emma said, walking into the station with a grim expression. "Test results came back today. It's . . . it's Kathryn's heart. They're sure."

Henry and I exchanged a worried glance as Emma went to speak with Mary Margaret about the issue, who looked devastated. Now they had enough evidence to continue the case against her. That wasn't good - at all.

"Her motive is completely ridiculous, though," I muttered angrily. "I mean, why would Mary Margaret murder Kathryn if she was leaving anyway? What's the point of that?"

Henry shrugged glumly, and Emma came back into the room looking thoroughly dismal. "We have to move the case against her. This is insanity." The blonde collapsed into the nearest chair and continued. "Complete insanity. Any more theories, you two?"

"Nothing substantial," I said sadly, setting down my notebook.

"Well, then, we're screwed. Aren't we?"

* * *

_My eyes opened to the soft sunlight filtering down into the ginnel, warming my face despite the snowbank I lay in. Then I remembered why I was lying in a snow bank, and sat bolt upright; but as I did that, pain erupted in my head and I collapsed back to the ground, cursing. Snow White had hit me pretty damn hard, almost as if she'd wanted to . . . no. She was a goody-goody, not a killer._

_I slowly stumbled to my feet, my head pounding horribly, and began my walk down the alley when a snide voice from behind me said, "I really thought she might, you know."_

_I whipped around to see Rumple standing in the ginnel, hands clasped in front of him, smiling at me. "What?"_

_"Snow White, of course," he said, stepping forwards. "That was my price for the queen's location: she had to kill you. Unfortunate, but I do have my reasons." I scowled at him._

_"Well, I'm still breathing, so you failed." I turned to walk away from him, when the Dark One wrapped a hand around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks._

_"I don't think I did, Lady Scarlet," he whispered, throwing as much sarcasm into the name as possible. "You see, Snow never killed the queen. That means she owes me nothing. Her debt is null and void." I glanced at him, furious._

_"So why would you send her to kill me, then?" I demanded, wrenching myself from his grip. Rumple smirked._

_"Punishment, dearie," he whispered again with a wink. "Not yours - someone else's. Hurting you was the best I could do for the moment." He moved to walk away but suddenly I was the one keeping him there. Rumple raised a questioning eyebrow._

_"Whose punishment?" I asked, my voice hoarse._

_Rumple kept walking, and I yelled after him, "Rumple! Whose punishment?!" _

_He turned around, grinning and said softly, "Your father's of course, dearie." Then he vanished into thin air, leaving me alone with nothing but confusion._

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for so short a chapter, but I wrote most of this at two am, so it's kind of rushed. ;) Sorry! Also, Maeve's dad will be revealed next chapter! It'll be kind of unexpected (I hope) so yeah . . . prepare for that. :) Also, we'll see Jefferson, just not in Storybrooke. It'll be more about explaining Maeve's past, so you'll all find out about her dad and her mum and what she did in the Enchanted Forest (that didn't involve brutal murder). :) **

**Also, we're now on episode sixteen - yay! I was wondering, because I've been compiling some stuff to do with the season one premise of this fic (playlists, alternate versions, deleted scenes, that kind of thing) I was wondering if you all wanted me to do, like, a season one recap thing that includes that stuff once I finish posting the season finale chapter? I would be super-excited to do it, and I've got a ton of stuff to include, so just let me know. :)**

**A huge thank you to all the wonderful people reading this fic! Honestly, you guys are all amazing, and it makes me so excited to know that so many people are reading my writing. :) Thank you! **

**Remember to favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Until next time my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	16. Unwanted

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters or similar dialogue. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

I'd dialed Emma's number about thirty times, but not a single call was answered. Suddenly, the door to the station was flung open and in walked the Sheriff, Mr Gold trailing behind her. They both looked more than a little surprised to see Henry and I in the hallway.

"Henry? What are you -?"

"Where have you been?!" I demanded, cutting her off while I shoved my phone back in my jacket pocket. "I've been calling you for the past twenty minutes! I thought you'd died!"

"My phone died earlier," Emma explained, baffled. "What's up? Why are you two even here?"

"I'm here to congratulate you on your genius plan," Henry said, and added, "Although Lindsey's just here to have a panic attack." I rolled my eyes impatiently, grabbing Emma's hand and dragging her into the station's offices.

"We don't have time for introductions. Emma, Gold - we have a real problem." I stopped in the central room, and gestured to the holding cells. The _empty _holding cells.

Emma strode across the room towards them, her expression horrified. "Henry, what did you do?!" she demanded, and the kid held his hands up in defense. "Nothing! She was gone when I got here." I nodded in agreement, and Emma turned back to us.

"Her arraignment's tomorrow morning," she said, a little breathless. "If she misses it, she's a fugitive. It doesn't matter if she's convicted or not, she's screwed!" The Sheriff ran a hand through her blond curls before hurrying back over to her desk to retrieve her keys.

"You have until eight am," Gold said. "That's when the arraignment is." Emma nodded and said to Henry, "Go home, Henry."

"No. I want to help look for Miss Blanchard!" Emma sighed impatiently and turned to me, giving me a pleading look. "Please?"

I knew what she was asking and immediately gave a firm, "No way."

"But Lindsey - just this once! If Regina finds out -"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll hang around with the nine-year-old -"

"Actually, I'm ten." Emma and I both looked at Henry, who seemed innocent enough sitting in his chair, swinging his feet, which didn't quite touch the floor.

I turned back to the Sheriff and said, "Hell to the no, Emma. Mary Margaret is missing - probably screwed beyond belief - and I am not letting you search the forest for her without me."

There was a long moment in which Emma simply stood there, watching me with something very worrisome brewing in her eyes. "Lindsey, I need you to watch him. Regina will have my head if she finds out he was here with me this late." She looked very desperate, and maybe it was her sudden desperation that changed my mind.

With a resigned huff, I took the seat next to Henry and growled, "Be back soon. And don't do anything exciting without me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," she said, flashing me a grateful smile before waving goodbye to Henry and sprinting out of the station. That left Henry and I alone with Mr Gold, who was studying some files on Emma's desk. I stood and tried to peek at the titles, but he suddenly closed the file and dropped it back into a pile full of identical manila folders.

"I really must be going. Perhaps I'll see you two another time."

"I sincerely doubt it, Gold," I replied with a raised eyebrow. The older man smiled a bit sardonically at me before walking out of the station. I turned to Henry, who was sitting with the most innocent look ever on his face.

"So . . . you're not going home, are you?" He shook his head. I sighed heavily and collapsed into my usual seat. "Fan-freaking-tastic."

* * *

"I think I've figured out who you are."

I glanced up from a battered copy of _The Hobbit _in confusion, staring at Henry; then I spotted the storybook spread out across his lap and suppress a snort. "Right - my fairytale counterpart. Well, kid - who am I?"

He held up the book and I squinted to see the title. "Lady Scarlet?"

"Yeah - you the story, right?" I nodded; sure I knew Lady Scarlet: a wicked murderess, defeated by Robin Hood and his Merry Men. It wasn't Snow White popular or anything, but in was pretty well-known. Then it hit me what Henry was saying, and I couldn't help but laugh. "And, what? You think I'm _Lady Scarlet_?"

"Why not?" Henry asked, shrugging. "Here, just look at the story." I obediently scurried over to the seat next to the kid and glanced down at his book. The illustration showed a girl in a black cloak, bright red hair dancing wildly in the wind. She stood in a forest, holding a loaded longbow.

"So . . . that's me?" Henry nodded. "I thought Lady Scarlet died?"

"That's because they didn't get it right," he explained. "Most of them are like that. You're not dead - clearly. And you're not nearly as evil as the story says."

"Well, thanks, Henry," I said sarcastically. "That means a lot."

He shrugged. "It's the truth. Basically, your mother was a fairy, and she was killed when you were a kid. Then you grew up, seeking revenge on the witch who murdered your mother. Robin Hood knew you before the Lady Scarlet thing." I nodded absently, turning the page: the next drawing was of the same red-headed girl running down a dark corridor, a dagger in each hand.

* * *

_"Jefferson?" My voice echoed off of the walls, and I winced at the sound; it was far too loud in that damned manor house. I hated that the Hatter had switched locales._

_"Maeve Scarlet." I whipped around, brandishing my knives; then I relaxed a bit, sheathing one of the blades as I recognized the figure before me. _

_"Jefferson," I sighed in relief, striding towards him. "Thought you might not be here."_

_"I'm always here," he said, sounding just a little bitter. I couldn't understand why: he was living in vast wealth, comfortable, and I had never known the Hatter to be terribly sentimental. His profession required that._

_"I'm in desperate need of your services," I explained quickly, biting my lip. "I need you to take me somewhere - and don't argue. I know you can get me there."_

_Jefferson raised an eyebrow at this. "Where exactly does Delphine's daughter need to go so badly? Wouldn't be to see Rumplestiltskin, would it?" He looked disgusted by the mere thought of it, and I shook my head adamantly. "Not a chance - I'd never deal with that bastard."_

_"Where, then?"_

_I took a deep breath and said in a small voice, "Wonderland."_

_Jefferson's eyes widened in surprise and he said, "And why exactly does Maeve Scarlet need to go to Wonderland? You -" he lowered his voice, as if somehow we might be overheard in the massive, empty house. "You aren't thinking of finding him, are you?"_

_I nodded, cringing, and he let out a sigh before tossing me a pitying look. "Maeve, I understand. But if you honestly think that seeing you will change his mind -"_

_"I don't need to change his mind!" I interrupted, angry for reasons that I wasn't even aware of. "I don't need him, I just - I have to try. For her." There was a tense pause before I continued. "She never really stopped loving him, you know. It wasn't long, but . . . well, she would've wanted me to meet him, at least once."_

_Jefferson stared at me for a few minutes, his expression unreadable. Then he let out a groan of frustration, throwing up his hands. "Fine! Just let it be said that I warned you." _

* * *

"So . . . the Lady Scarlet in this version was a good guy?" I asked, trying to stamp out my curiosity. I didn't like that I was growing fond of this kid's theories. After all, it was insanity - wasn't it?

"Definitely," Henry said, nodding enthusiastically. "She's kind of awesome. Well, at first." He quieted a bit before saying, "Later, you got a bit . . . dark."

"Dark?"

"Yep."

"Just how dark are we talking here?"

"Really dark. Like . . . impaling heads on sticks kind of dark." Henry discreetly inched away from me a bit, and I caught something in the kid's eyes: a flash of fear. It was brief, but it was there, and that sort of terrified me.

"Henry. You know I never really -"

"You didn't mean it. I know. Things happened . . . really bad things. It's kind of awful, actually." He paused for a moment before handing me the storybook. "Why don't you read it?"

I snorted. "No thanks, kid. I'm not in a story time mood." But Henry insistently pressed the book into my hands, and my incessant curiosity was burning like a wildfire in my mind, so I accepted it and turned the page, skimming the words.

"She - her mother died?" I asked, my voice quiet. Henry nodded, silent. I continued reading. "And Lady Scarlet's real name is . . . Maeve?" He nodded again and added, "But everyone knows her as Lady Scarlet."

"Henry, why do you think I'm Lady Scarlet?" He shrugged. "It just makes sense, doesn't it? You're both tough, sarcastic - you both sneak around a lot. You're both orphans." I nodded, although Henry winced a bit at his own statement. At that point I was used to it.

"But - I mean, she was a psychotic mass murderer. That's not exactly a good thing. Lady Scarlet . . . well, she's a bad guy, isn't she?" No response from Henry, which I took to be a 'yes'. Oh, joy: the kid thought I was a homicidal maniac from a fairy tale realm.

"Kid, you know I'd never . . . I mean, I wouldn't ever do anything like that." I bit my lip with a pang of concern, wondering whether or not Henry really believed I was Lady Scarlet. If he really thought I was capable of doing such horrific things. I mean, sure I would take potential homicides in stride at the station, investigating and such; but that was me catching the bad guys. Actually doing what they did - killing people, torturing? I doubted I'd have the stomach for it.

"I know you wouldn't hurt us now," Henry said, although he didn't sound entirely certain of himself. "You've changed - just like you changed before, back in the Enchanted Forest. You weren't always evil. You turned into Lady Scarlet - before that, you were just Maeve."

"Wait - she changed?" I couldn't refer to Lady Scarlet in the first person. "Did she kill people?"

"Not before. Why don't you just read it? Maybe it'll jog your memory or something." Henry looked hopeful about this idea, and, despite my reluctance, I complied and began to read Lady Scarlet's story.

* * *

_"God, I hate this place," Jefferson muttered under his breath, although I caught his remark._

_"Hello, there!" Rings of rich smoke blew across my face as we passed the massive blue caterpillar, perched on a gigantic mushroom. I coughed, blinking the sting from my eyes. "Yeah, I'm starting to understand why."_

_"You know where to find him, right?" Jefferson asked, looking mildly concerned. I nodded, pulling a sheaf of parchment from my cloak. _

_"Yeah - I traded some of my mum's apothecary concoctions for it. It's magic: supposed to point the way to whatever you want to find." Then I pulled a thin blade from my boot and pricked the tip of my finger. A single drop of crimson spattered onto the warn yellow paper, and quickly spread like ink across the surface, forming the makings of a map._

_I sheathed my knife. "He's in the Royal Woods," I said, studying the map, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Why's he so close to the Queen of Hearts?" Jefferson shrugged. "Let's just hope we don't run into her or her guard."_

_"Otherwise it's off with our heads," I said sarcastically before marching forward, my eyes trained on the tiny footprints on the map that echoed our own. _

* * *

"You're name is Maeve Scarlet," Henry explained as I read the story. He kept talking over my shoulder, keeping up a steady stream of commentary.

"You grew up just outside Sherwood Forest, isolated because of your mother: she was a disgraced fairy, and so was her sister. That's your aunt." I snorted. "Caroline's in this?"

"Of course she is." Henry spoke as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "She's in Storybrooke, isn't she?"

"Anyway, your mum died when you were a kid, and you grew up in Sherwood, with Robin Hood and the Merry Men. But you became sort of crazy - you wanted revenge on the witch who killed your mother. So you left your aunt in Sherwood and went off to become Lady Scarlet, the infamous assassin and thief." There it was again: the flicker of fear when Henry glanced at me.

I sighed quietly. "Henry, I'm not an assassin. I've never killed anyone, for starters, and -"

"You just can't remember," he insisted. "Keep reading - this has to work!"

* * *

_"It should be just up here -"_

_"Maeve, we've been walking for hours. I'm not sure how far the Royal Forest is from where we came out, but I'm pretty sure we've passed it. Maybe we took a wrong turn, or . . ." Jefferson trailed off as I stopped walking and gestured to the tavern before us._

_I grinned proudly. "Told you I could find it."_

_The Hatter grimaced, not looking pleased by our discovery at all. He twisted his fingers together before saying, "Why don't you just go in yourself? It's not like I can leave you here."_

_"Why don't you come inside with me?" I asked, a hint of pleading creeping into my voice. I hated it, but there it was: I needed someone to go with me. The thought of meeting him in there petrified me, and I doubted I could walk through those doors alone._

_But Jefferson shook his head adamantly. "No, I can't. Wonderland and I don't have a particularly pleasant history, and while I will take you here and back home, I won't risk putting my neck onto anyone's chopping block. There are quite the number of people here who wouldn't mind seeing me dead."_

_I bit my lip worriedly before nodding once, turning on my heel to face the tavern. Voices could be heard from outside: cheering, laughing, everything melding into a loud roar. I sucked in a deep breath, steeling my nerves, and hesitantly walked inside._

_Instantly, I was hit by a wall of sounds and smells: mostly drunken laughter and mead. It wasn't all that bad - I'd been hanging around the Merry Men a bit, back in Sherwood, and they loved places like that. However, I realized that familiarity doesn't breed comfort - proved by the fact that my palms were still slick with sweat, and the pulse thrumming in my ears. _

_I walked slowly through the crowded tavern, soft golden firelight draped over everything. I froze, every thought in my head ceasing to exist as I spotted him: sitting casually at a corner table, a drink in hand. He was talking with a tall, broad-shouldered man in chainmail: the Queen of Hearts' guard. _

_Feet moving rapidly and without much control, I stumbled awkwardly in his direction; but suddenly a group of men with tankards of ale cut in front of me, blocking my view. I sighed in annoyance and pushed my way through. But when I emerged on the other side, he was striding out of the tavern, his drink abandoned on the table. The Queen's soldier had vanished, as well, and I felt a pang of concern before racing after him, outside the tavern._

_"Wait - wait!" I was yelling now, and for good measure grabbed his wrist. The man whirled around, but as he caught sight of me his look of fury morphed into one of bafflement. "Wait," I panted, breathless from shoving through the crowds of drunken idiots._

_"Who're you?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. I spotted Jefferson a few feet away, looking awkward as he observed the conversation, and I glanced back up the at the man._

_"I'm Maeve," I said, staring up at Will Scarlet. "I'm your daughter."_

* * *

"So, you think I'm a world-renowned assassin and thief, the daughter of a disgraced fairy and the Knave of Hearts, and the same Lady Scarlet defeated by Robin Hood hundreds of years ago . . . because we both have red hair?"

"No," Henry said. "The red hair's only part of it. I made a list, see?" He pulled a piece of paper from the back of the storybook, which was covered in hasty writing.

"You're both redheads, you're both orphans-" again with the wince "-you're both rebellious, and you both live with your aunt. It makes total sense."

I stared down at the list, bewildered; Henry genuinely thought I was Lady Scarlet. "Henry, she's a trained murderer. You honestly think I could kill that many people?"

"Not you, but maybe Lady Scarlet," he replied, as if this response made perfect sense. "You were practically a different person when you were her. Maybe Maeve and Lady Scarlet are different." He didn't sound very sure about this theory.

I flipped to the next page in his book and froze, gaping down at the illustration in horror: it was of a girl in the same black cloak, her red hair whipped by the wind as she plummeted from a cliffside, down to the grey water below. "Henry - what is this?"

The kid glanced over my shoulder at the picture. "Oh, that? It's Lady Scarlet, when she - you - were escaping the Evil Queen's guard for the first time. It didn't go over very well."

I nodded absently, still staring down at the drawing. My dreams - nightmares - one of them had looked just like that, down to the cloak and the hair. It was a horrible case of déjà vu that followed. I turned the page hurriedly, and suppressed a gasp at the next picture: the same red-haired girl, in a bright red gown, dancing with a tall brunette man in a ballroom. "And this?"

"That's Lady Scarlet at a ball with Simon," he said. "She - she killed him later." He sounded sad about this, but I felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief. Kill Simon? Somehow, that sounded ludicrous to me.

"Insane," I muttered, not caring that I was talking mostly to myself. "She wouldn't kill him."

* * *

_"My what?!" Will spluttered, looking rather horrified. I reeled back a bit, disappointment welling up within me; I shook it off, but the idea still stuck - did he hate me?_

_"Daughter," I said slowly, not wanting to bombard him with questions or explanation. "Delphine - the fairy. She's my mother." Will looked aghast as he whispered her name, "Delphine."_

_I nodded, a bit encouraged. "Yes, Delphine. She, er - well, we can get to that later. For now, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to -"_

_"No."_

_At first the word took me off guard: it was as if I hadn't heard it at all. I continued to suggest that perhaps he could return to the Enchanted Forest with me, or I could stay with him in Wonderland for a little while, when Jefferson shook his head at me sadly._

_I slowly turned back around to face Will, who stood there looking almost emotionless, everything wiped clean from his expression. "Will?" I whispered tentatively._

_"No," he repeated, this time with growing conviction. Something returned to his dark eyes, although I didn't think I liked it very much: it resembled malice too closely for me not to worry. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't have any children."_

_"Yes, you do!" I persisted, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm standing right here! Delphine, the fairy, she's my mother, and you're -"_

_"I know who Delphine is," he said coldly. "But I don't owe her anything, and I sure as hell don't owe you anything." The words hit me one at a time, like individual blows to the chest. I bit my lip angrily, although I wasn't angry with Will - I was angry with how much his words hurt. I didn't want them to hurt, but that did nothing to change the bursts of pain in my chest._

_"But you two -"_

_"I never loved her," Will said, and that statement felt like a hundred slaps across the face. "It was a one-time thing, Delphine. I don't care about her, and I definitely don't care about you." That was a thousand slaps. "Leave Wonderland, kid, and stay away from me." For a moment I thought I saw something flash across his eyes, but then it was gone and I shook the notion away furiously, dismissing it as blind hope._

_"Fine," I spat, marching up to Will. "I'll leave. But let me just say that I am incredibly disappointed - I figured you wouldn't want me. But I never thought I'd be relieved about it, you pathetic bastard." And with that I slapped him square across the face and whipped back around, striding away with Jefferson at my side, pressing my fingernails into my wrist to try and stop any tears from falling._

* * *

My nightmares were all inscribed in Henry's storybook, which I had never read until that point. I chewed my lip worriedly, fairly certain that that meant I was insane.

"This is bad," I muttered. "Very freaking bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Henry was grinning hugely. "This is awesome! You're remembering your other life - this is great!" The kid continued to celebrate his 'victory' while I despaired over my potential mental instability.

"It's not like you're going crazy or anything," he added, closing the book and putting it back in its drawer in Emma's desk. He yawned, and I glanced out the clock: nearly two in the morning. I glanced back at Henry, who was looking happy but tired.

"You sure you still want to sit here, or go home to sleep?" I asked.

Henry shook his head, although he couldn't hide another yawn from me. "I want to wait for Emma and Mary Margaret. What if they get back and we're not here?"

"Then Emma'll handle everything like she's going to anyway," I replied, standing up and brushing my jeans off. I stood before Henry, hands braced on my hips as I said, "Henry, you have to go home. If Regina wakes up and finds you missing - again - she'll murder me. Then Emma. Then you. It won't be good, kid."

Henry shook his head again, although I could see how tired he was. I sighed heavily and leaned down so that I was eye-level with him. "Henry, you have to go home. It's the best way you can help Emma and Mary Margaret - as long as Regina's distracted, she won't find out about the disappearance."

The kid stared at me apprehensively for a moment, and I remembered that he still thought I was an ex-assassin and mass murderer from a fairy tale land. But then he nodded reluctantly and stood. I smiled gratefully down at him as we walked out of the station, thankful that begging had not been necessary.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, lovelies! Sorry for the late update, but I've had a load of homework lately, so it's taken longer. :) So, Maeve's dad is Will Scarlet (aka the Knave of Hearts). What d'you guys think about that twist? I wasn't really sure about it myself, but I figured what the hell, right? Also, I recently started watching OUAT in Wonderland and adore his character. :) And, just so you know, this fic will not become a cross-over - this was the one and only time a Wonderland character will make its way into it. But Will Scarlet has always been my favourite Merry Man (outside of OUAT), so . . . yeah. **

**So, none of you have told me whether or not I should consider doing the season one recap thing yet, so I created a poll. :) It should be in my profile now, and if you want to, go ahead and vote. I just want to know what to give you guys with this fic. :) **

**A massive thank you to Storylover4ever, who favourited this story, and to satsuki75 and kimboik for following. And also thank you to everyone reading this fic! I'm so happy that people like my writing, and just . . . thank you, you wonderful flowers. ;)**

**Next chapter: Lindsey loses her mind (more than usual), and things get pretty intense in the backstories and stuff. And don't forget the wonderful King George hate that I love writing so much! ;D **

**Remember to favourite if you liked this fic, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say! Until next time, my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	17. Welcome to the Madhouse

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters or similar dialogue - just my own OCs. Enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

"Not what it seems, not what you think.

I must be dreaming.

Just in my mind, not in real life.

I must be dreaming."

- Evanescence, _Bleed_

* * *

I scowled at the room at large, frustration and worry building inside me and twisting my stomach into knots. I hadn't been allowed to see Mary Margaret's interview with the District Attorney, which infuriated me considering I a) worked at the damn station and b) had an awful feeling about the DA himself. He seemed like a manipulative asshole, and I worried that my theory would be proved correct.

'It'll be ok'. That was Ruby's fifth text to me since they'd all gone into the interview, leaving me in the station's office with my combat boots propped on the desk. She hadn't gotten the shift off at Granny's, so she opted to text me instead. I'd sent her a record twenty-three messages in seven and a half minutes.

'The DA looks like a total dick', I replied. Ruby sent me back a laughing emoticon, but I hadn't been kidding. I didn't like the idea of Mary Margaret in that room with him, defenceless and confused.

Just then, Emma came striding into the room with Gold and Mary Margaret in tow. The teacher looked devastated, and I immediately jumped to my feet, saying, "Alright. How hard am I going to be hitting him?"

Emma just shook her head as Mary Margaret returned to her cell. The blonde locked it up before turned to me, her face an unreadable mask. "Lindsey - the DA wants to interview you."

My eyebrows flew to my hairline. "Me?" I asked in astonishment. Emma nodded and Gold gestured to the door leading to the interrogation room, and I shrugged and walked out, uncertain of why the two looked so grim about the situation.

I entered the interrogation room, which was this cramped dark room that doubled as a storage room. The DA was sitting comfortably in the chair closest to the door, so I took the one across from him. Emma would be behind the tinted glass window, while Gold came and took a seat next to me. I raised an eyebrow at him but he just shook his head, silently telling me not to question.

"Miss Welles." I turned back to face the DA, who was watching me with such an odd expression of vindication that a shiver ran up my spine; he was seriously creepy. "That's me. What's up?"

He glanced down at a file folder he had spread across the metal table before him before responding. "I'm going to ask you a few questions about Kathryn Nolan, the deceased." I nearly winced at his emotionless tone - someone was dead, after all. "Did you know Mrs Nolan?"

I shrugged. "Kind of. I mean, we knew names and all that, but it wasn't anything incredibly personal. Why? Why am I the one being interviewed now?" No one answered my questions, which added to my previous frustration.

"Miss Welles, I am going to ask you again: did you know Mrs Nolan?"

I pressed my lips together in annoyance. "And I am going to answer you again: Not really. What the hell is going on?"

"Did you assist Mary Margaret Blanchard in the murder of Kathryn Nolan?"

There was a long minute of heavy silence, in which I digested these words, playing them over and over in my head, trying to decipher some meaning. I stared at the DA in disbelief for a moment, waiting for him to explain that this was just a joke; he didn't. That was when I burst out laughing.

"Did - did I - _murder _-?" I couldn't even finish the sentence I was laughing so hard. Once I finally calmed down enough to speak, I noticed the look of expectance on the DA's face and my smile vanished. "Oh, my God, you're serious."

"Quite serious," he replied, glancing back down at his file. I tried to read it upside down, but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"No, I didn't murder Kathryn Nolan. Jesus Christ, that is the craziest theory yet! And who says that Mary Margaret is guilty, anyway?" I scowled at the DA, who simply stood and left the room. I glanced at Gold, who was rubbing his forehead in obvious exasperation, and the DA returned shortly, holding a clear plastic bag marked 'evidence'.

"Miss Welles, are you familiar with this object?" He dropped the bag onto the table before me and I peered down at its contents, shocked: there, nestled in the folds of plastic, was my silver wolf charm.

"That's mine," I said slowly, surprised. "That's on my charm bracelet - my friend Ruby gave it to me forever ago, and I never -" I stopped, staring in shock at my charm bracelet, which hung loosely on my wrist: the wolf charm was missing.

"Yes?" I looked up to see the DA smirking satisfactorily, and I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a second before responding.

"Where did you find it?"

"In the wreckage of Mrs Nolan's car." My eyes widened in surprise and I stared from the DA to Gold and back again, one man looking triumphant, the other incredibly tired.

"That's - not possible," I stammered, bewildered. "I've never even been inside Kathryn's car! How could it have wound up in there?" The DA simply gave me a disbelieving glance, as if he thought I was lying. I clenched my teeth to keep from cussing him out - what kind of asshole accuses a complete stranger of murder on the grounds that they found that stranger's jewellery around a crime scene that the stranger in question investigated?!

"I investigated that crime scene," I said stiffly, my hands curled into tight fists. "It must've fallen off then."

The DA ignored this statement entirely, and I was beginning to wonder whether or not any of this interrogation was at all orthodox. "This is completely insane."

"No, although perhaps you are."

I froze, every muscle in my body seizing up as I processed his words. A wave of fury washed over me and I said in a tight, controlled voice, "Say that again?"

"I've been told that you attended sessions with the psychiatrist Dr Archibald Hopper?" The DA glanced down at his file again and I was sorely tempted to swipe it off of the damn table.

I nodded curtly. "Yes. But I don't see how -"

"We've also determined from Dr Hopper's notes from said sessions that you, Miss Welles, are rather . . . _troubled_." He said it in the way that adults do when they want to use a far more insulting term. My fists tightened, my knuckles turning bone-white.

"And your point is?"

"Dr Hopper's notes explained that you have a severe case of paranoia, which is partly why he concluded that you may suffer from a mild form of psychosis." I reeled back a bit, shocked. "Perhaps you could explain this to us?" And then the DA placed my notebook on the table.

I stared down at the black cover for a long moment, my brain unable to process the situation. _He read my notebook. He read my notebook. He read my notebook. _No matter how many times the sentence ran through my mind, I couldn't seem to fully understand what had happened. It took a few more minutes of silence, in which the DA smiled smugly to himself and Gold looked genuinely worried, for me to comprehend the situation. And once I did, I snapped.

"How did you even get that?" I demanded, my voice frigid.

"Why don't you explain why you believed Kathryn Nolan to be a fraud?"

"Believed being the key word there. Past tense. I don't think that anymore."

"Explain why you did."

"Why, if it's irrelevant?"

"I'll be the judge of what is relevant or not."

"No, I don't think you will." I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as my voice grew louder. "Where did you get that notebook, because I never showed Archie!"

"It wasn't from Dr Hopper." The DA seemed almost pleased by my outrage, which only served to tick me off even further. He wanted angry? He would get angry.

"I'm not crazy, you bastard," I spat furiously, and next to me Gold put his head in his hand again. "And how exactly do you plan to prove that I murdered someone with only my bloody _diary _as evidence?!"

"The notebook is simply evidence of your mental instability," he replied, watching me intently. I hadn't yet noticed his eyes: colorless and bloodless, like a shark's, sending a shiver running up my spine.

"We've requested a psychological evaluation, which had been approved." I blanched at this, horror managing to beat out my surprise.

"Who approved of it? Because Caroline wouldn't - and I'm not going."

"Miss Welles, you are a suspect in the brutal murder of an innocent woman. Whether or not you will participate in this evaluation is entirely out of the question. It is not a request." The DA deftly closed his file folder and tucked it in a binder next to him. "Sheriff Swan will escort you to the facility now." He stood and strode out of the room before I had a chance to argue.

Emma walked in the room, her eyes brimming with horror, as she walked with me out of the interrogation room. I stumbled after her: I was confused, my panic making me numb. Thoughts jumbled up in my mind, and it didn't help that the little visions kept peeking out from the back of my mind: the daggers in my hand, the teacup that turned into a young girl waltzing across a ballroom, the tattered old man screaming in agony, the many voices begging for mercy in my mindless traipse through the forest.

"Emma - Emma, what's happening?" Mary Margaret asked in bafflement as she watched the Sheriff lead me out of the station, one hand gently on my shoulder. I hadn't known Emma could be gentle with anyone but Henry, and I felt as though I should turn around and thank her - but I didn't. I just kept walking, all of Mary Margaret's questions going unanswered.

* * *

The dungeon was cold.

I'd been told that it was in fact not a dungeon but a room in the hospital's psych ward; however, the fact that it was underground, in the hospital basement, dark and had concrete walls made the dungeon theory seem far more plausible.

The floor was freezing against my bare feet - they had taken my shoes and socks, forcing me to change into one of those plain off-white smock-looking things. It was a lot like a nightgown, really, although I wasn't a nightgown kind of girl, so I felt completely ridiculous in the damn thing.

"It's a seventy-two hour evaluation," Whale explained from the door. "Not long, really, and it won't take much on your part. Just sit here and try not to seem crazy." I didn't laugh, and he coughed awkwardly before closing the door. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Make yourself . . ." He glanced around the bare room through the barred slot in the door. "Whatever." The slot closed, plunging me into shadows.

I sat on the edge of the cot, restless, the floor sending cold pinpricks across my soles where my feet touched the concrete. Everything in the hospital's basement seemed to be made of the grey material: walls, floors, ceiling. The doors were metal, as was the cot. The only soft thing in the room was a scratchy white sheet draped over the cot.

I sat there for what felt like hours. After a while, I jumped to my feet and paced around the tiny room, which I counted to be exactly eight and a half paces long and five and a quarter paces wide. It was puny, and I was already beginning to feel claustrophobic. I strode over to the door and rapped on the slot.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and a vaguely pretty woman in a white cap flipped open the slot, looking at me tiredly. "What?"

"I was just wondering what time it is." I felt defensive, despite the fact that the woman hadn't actually said anything accusatory. It was like practice for when she really would question me: you're a suspect in the Kathryn Nolan murder?

"Oh - ten seventeen," she answered, checking her watch. I suppressed a groan of frustration: I'd only been down there for fifteen goddamn minutes.

"Well . . . bye." The woman closed the slot and I listened to her walk away, counting the footsteps down the hallway outside: sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen . . . done. Nineteen steps away was the nurse's station. I wasn't sure why that was relevant, but some part of me needed the distraction of meaningless counting.

I walked back to sit on the edge of the cot, the nightgown flowing out around my thighs. I scowled angrily down at the starched material, as if the entire situation was its fault. Then I let out a long, heavy sigh before laying back on the cot, the sheet scratching against the back of my neck.

This would probably prove to be the longest seventy-two hours of my entire life.

* * *

Three hours and sixteen minutes later, Whale returned, as promised. He'd brought down some files, and I blanched at them, having no trust in records any longer.

"I'm not doing your psych eval," he explained, sounding even more awkward than when he'd left earlier.

"Archie?" Whale nodded once in response. I relaxed a bit but couldn't help but notice the expression of worry that he retained. "There's someone else, isn't there?" He didn't answer. "Whale, who else is coming?"

He paused, watching me for a moment before saying, "Don't blame Archie. She forced him to let her come, and he didn't want to but, well - she's her." Whale's voice was full of awkward pleading. "Just - Lindsey, please don't hit anyone, okay?"

That was when Archie Hopper came hurrying into the cell - because I had long since determined the room's true purpose - with someone right on his heels, although her walk was far more graceful than Hopper's.

"I make no promises," I said to Whale as Regina Mills smiled evilly.

"So, how long have you been having these nightmares?"

I raised an eyebrow, annoyed, as Archie managed to ask his first question. He'd taken a seat on a stool brought down by some nurses. Regina had gotten a proper chair all to herself, while I remained seated on the edge of the tiny cot, my bare toes tapping incessantly on the freezing concrete floor.

"You already know that," I said flatly, glaring more at Regina; I knew her presence wasn't Archie's fault. "I've told you before - against my will, admittedly, but it was still said."

"We need proper records of all information," Regina said, deftly cutting off whatever explanation Archie was about to give. I directed my entire icy glare at the mayor, who simply stared back with amusement glittering in her dark eyes. She was definitely enjoying this; I just wasn't sure why.

"Seven and a half months," I said, the answer coming out a bit hesitant.

"Okay." Archie scribbled something down on a pad of paper, giving me an encouraging smile. When I shook my head at him, the shrink's smile morphed into a worried glance before he continued with the questions. "What are these nightmares typically about?"

I shrugged uncomfortably, not enjoying spilling my guts in front of Regina. "Just random things. I don't really know - they get kind of hazy. Fragmented." Vague answers were a specialty of mine. And the fact that Regina curled her lip at this response sent a pang of triumph through me for a brief moment.

"Can you give me some examples of these nightmares?" I nodded. "I guess. Well . . . there was one where I fell off of a cliff. And another . . . I was running through a forest. I was also at some grand ball in one of them." I knew Archie well enough to know that he could tell if I was lying - maybe not as well as Emma, but as well as shrinks typically do.

"That's interesting . . ." Archie wrote something else down on his paper, which made me nervous because I couldn't read his handwriting upside down - I'd tried before. "Can you tell me anything else about the nightmares?"

I shook my head. "They really aren't that big of a deal." I was lying a lot now; I couldn't afford to look crazy. And I was becoming increasingly good at hiding my fear and exhaustion. "I don't get them often anymore." Another lie. "I think the other sessions must've worked." And another. "Also, Caroline gave me this tea that's probably helping." And yet another lie.

Archie just nodded and then wrote for a good three or four minutes. Regina and I just stared at each other, one in malice and the other in defensive hatred. "Dr Hopper, I don't know if you're asking quite the right questions."

I raised an eyebrow at the mayor and both at Archie as he looked her right in the eye and said, "Considering I'm the only psychiatrist in the room, I believe that I know the right questions to ask."

Regina looked completely taken aback, while I was elated; I was tempted to hug Archie for being so wonderful. I'd never seen him stand up to someone like that before, let alone Regina Mills.

Then he stood up and said, "Miss Welles, I'll be back in an hour or two to continue this. Perhaps I'll return alone." And with that, Archie walked out of the cell with his pad of paper and pen in hand, looking determined.

Regina sat there, stunned, for a long moment before standing and following him without another word in my direction. I was almost grateful for this; all this waiting and nervousness was wearing on me.

I leaned back onto the cot, running my hand over the itchy fabric over and over again: I was not crazy. I was not crazy. I was not crazy. I repeated it over and over in my head, like some ridiculous mantra, as if thinking the words would make them true.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

It was only about fifteen minutes after Regina and Archie had left that a vision came creeping up on me. That was what some of them were like: they appeared out of nowhere, tossing me head-first into a reality that was not my own.

One second I was sitting on the floor of my temporary cell, my back against the cot; the next I was sprinting through a long, darkened corridor with a dagger in each hand.

"Jefferson?" I called, although I wasn't at all certain why I was calling that name. I didn't know anyone named Jefferson.

"Maeve Scarlet." Suddenly I whirled around and sheathed a dagger, seeing a tall man with messy dark hair in a top hat standing a few feet away. We shook hands, and I couldn't understand why my body was doing all of these things without my permission.

Then I was back in the cell, panting, my knees tucked against my chest. I hadn't screamed or anything - it wasn't that sort of vision - but it still sent shivers ricocheting through my every bone, as if someone had injected my skeleton with ice water. I shuddered, trying to keep it hidden. I had no doubt that someone was watching me at that very moment, and I wasn't giving in to the crazy. Never.

* * *

"Miss Welles, how would you describe these hallucinations?"

I glanced up at Regina, who was watching me curiously. I lifted my chin, meeting her gaze with my own. "Who said anything about hallucinations?"

"Well, you did." Then I remembered: the notebook. I'd written in the margin 'hallucinations?', as if by leaving the question there it might be answered. Unfortunately, it hadn't been so far.

"Right." I chewed the inside of my cheek as Archie adjusted his spectacles and peered over at me, his pen poised over paper. "Well . . . they've stopped, actually." Lie. "I don't know, maybe they had something to do with the nightmares."

"Yes, perhaps." Regina didn't sound convinced, although Archie did, and that was the real issue there: getting Archie to believe, not Madam Mayor.

"Perhaps you'd like to delve more into your expressions of anger?"

I raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Expressions of anger?"

"You smacked me, a few months ago." I nodded, familiar with the incident.

"You called my aunt an ignorant airhead with a stupidity complex."

"And does that justify being slapped?"

"Yes, actually, it does."

There was a moment while Regina leaned over and whispered something in Archie's ear. The shrink looked incredibly worried by whatever she'd said and shot me a glance that clearly read 'stop talking!' So I did.

* * *

It'd been twelve hours. For four of those hours, Archie and Regina had come down to my cell to interrogate me and pick my brain. For one and a half of those hours, Whale or that pretty nurse from down the hall had given me something to eat and told me the time. That left five and a half hours of me simply sitting around the cell, staring blankly at the walls and the ceiling, trying in vain to block out the hallucinations.

"Come on, sweetheart." A scaly, glistening hand stroked down my cheek, and I shuddered and turned away from the hideous touch. I knew it wasn't real - it felt more like the memory of a touch than actual contact - but I couldn't help my overwhelming disgust. "Look up, darling." I squeezed my eyes shut, shutting everything out in favour of the darkness.

"Look up." I screwed my eyes shut tighter, pressing my lips together. "Look up, look up." I bit my lip, scurrying away from my spot on the floor. I sat next to the cot, but the voice only followed me, another touch leaving a trail of pinpricks along my face. "Look up, dearie. Look up."

I whimpered, fear and revulsion mixing like toxins in my bloodstream, making me dizzy and sick to the stomach. "Dearie, I'm right here." I continued moving away, scrabbling awkwardly on the cold cement floor.

"Please," I whispered desperately, my voice choked. "Please, stop."

Three more hours have passed, and I have grown accustomed to certain visions. The scaly hand tracing my cheek, for example, seems tame compared to the ones that are beginning to attack me. I supposed it was my surroundings: typically I was distracted by Ruby or Emma or Mary Margaret. Now, I was alone, and all I could think about was not seeming crazy - which, of course, made me seem crazy.

"Hallo, darling." The voice echoed throughout the cell, and I wondered for the hundredth time how the nurse down the hall couldn't hear it. "Been a while." I shook my head, desperation flooding through me again, as someone knelt next to me: a brown-eyed boy, with a head of curly brown hair and a manic grin - the same one he'd worn the past ten times I'd seen him.

"Oh, come on, love." His voice was incredibly distracting to me, and I had a hard time focusing on anything else when he spoke: it was as if I'd once loved that voice, and wanted desperately to be able to love it again. But I couldn't. Something was wrong; the way the boy watched me was terrifying.

"I don't bite, love."

I pursed my lips to keep from whimpering again and managed to whisper, "Don't call me love. Just leave me alone."

"Leave you alone?" I nodded, hoping that perhaps he would listen, that he would say goodbye and never return. But all of my far-flung hopes were soon squashed as he continued. "Now where would be the fun in that?"

My heart dropped as he reached over to me, running his fingers through my hair. I knew it wasn't really happening, it wasn't real - but oh, God, it felt real. It felt so real, and so _right_, that it petrified me. I sat there, cross-legged next to the cot, shadows dancing across the floor from the barred window above, not moving a muscle. I couldn't; all I could do was shiver and whisper, "Please stop, please please stop. Please," over and over again, until the words had lost their meaning.

"No, darling, I don't think I will."

* * *

"Lindsey?"

My eyes snapped open, fear coursing through me in an immediate and reflexive reaction; surely it was another hallucination, coming to taunt me, to whisper in my ear and send those horrible shivers up my spine.

But instead of a specter, it was Dr Whale and the psych nurse standing in the open doorway. The woman had a small tray clutched in her hands, and I noticed the sunlight spilling through the window, casting the grey room in a bizarrely cheerful light.

"It's morning," I whispered, entirely to myself. Reassuring myself that it was over, that I'd made it through the night by some ridiculous miracle. I let out a short sigh of relief as I stretched into s standing position, tiredness in my every bone. I must've fallen asleep eventually, sitting next to the cot.

"Didn't like the bed?" Whale was trying for a joke again, and this time I was so giddy with relief that I actually cracked a half-smile as I took a brown paper bag from the psych nurse. I peered inside curiously: a chocolate-chip muffin. The nurse handed me a hot paper to-go cup, and I took a cautious sip: tea with one cream and two sugars, the way I'd taken it since I was a kid.

"How the hell -?"

"Your friend Ruby wanted to see you yesterday, but the evaluation demands no visitors for the seventy-two hour period. So, she brought you breakfast instead." Whale explained all this, and I felt a pang of gratitude towards my friend. Then I remembered her previous request, and my lips stretched into a small grin.

"Can you tell her that I'll go to the damn party with her once I get the hell out of here?" I asked Whale; he nodded, looking confused, and quickly left the room. The psych nurse got me to sit on the edge of the cot while I drank the tea, and she did some quick medic-y looking stuff for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what she was looking for - if I was crazy, I doubted there would be physical symptoms - but I let her check anyway.

"Miss Welles," said a voice from the door. And so strong was my wonderful relief at morning that I could even give Regina Mills a sarcastic smirk.

"Madam Mayor? To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked as she strode inside the cell, shooing away the nurse. Archie followed her, looking much more weary than he had the day before, and I bit my lip in concern: had Regina threatened him again, to try and get him to accuse me of insanity?

"Let's get this over with," I said, leaning back with my tea in hand. I was ready for anything that bitch could throw at me.

* * *

It was six hours later that I began to regret that particular session. Archie's questions had become far too intrusive for my liking, although I knew it was necessary. He had to prove my innocence somehow, after all.

I thought back to one of the first questions he'd asked. "Miss Welles, would you consider yourself a danger to anyone?"

I'd outright laughed at this. "A danger? Well, I suppose that depends. If someone slaps me, I'll probably slap them back - that's about it." At the mention of slapping, Regina had glowered at me, and I'd just smiled innocently back at her.

There was another one that was bugging me: "Can you explain your violent actions in these nightmares and hallucinations?" I'd said no, of course I couldn't, he was the shrink, after all. And Archie had nodded vaguely and written something down for a few minutes. Whenever he wrote for more than thirty seconds, I got worried.

He'd asked me a few more questions about this: whether or not I was dangerous, why I was so angry with people, how I typically channeled my anger. I knew that this set of Q&A bullshit was entirely Kathryn-based, which was why I answered them almost-honestly: I didn't kill Kathryn. For that matter, neither had Mary Margaret. If anyone murdered her, I would've blamed Regina.

I leaned back against the edge of the cot, my tailbone going numb from lack of movement against the concrete floor; I hadn't moved much in the past few hours, save for shifting around to try and get comfortable - which, of course, was impossible. Comfort really isn't available to people suspected of first-degree murder.

"Lindsey?" I glanced up, baffled, as Ruby's face appeared in the door's slot. Her big green eyes were peering through worriedly, as if expecting me to be a psychotic mess huddled in the corner - which I actually had been the previous night.

"Ruby?" I jumped to my feet, walking over to the door. "What - how are you even here right now?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "I came to see you, dork. The chick at the front let me right in - said she didn't understand why someone so normal was here in the first place." She smirked at me, although her eyes were still sad. "Hear that, kiddo? You need to get out to defend your reputation: people are starting to think you're normal."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? 'Cause I figured half the town would be gossiping about me being batshit crazy by this point."

We both fell into uncomfortable silence for a minute before Ruby added, "I knew you didn't want me to bring her." I knew exactly what she was talking about: Caroline. I just nodded; there was no way in hell I would let her see me like this.

"So . . . you're doing okay?" Then, before I could say anything, Ruby shook her head adamantly. "Never mind - stupid question. Of course you're not." That best friend of mine, she always knew what to say.

"I'll come by to bring you breakfast again tomorrow, yeah?" I nodded absently, a voice beginning the whispers in the back of my mind again. I fought them, though, for Ruby's sake. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Great." She reached through the slot and pushed through a small paper bag that contained one bagel, a packet of raspberry jam and a plastic butter knife. "Enjoy, kiddo. You'll be free soon." Then she vanished, running back down the hallway to the outside world, leaving me standing there with my bagel and the whispers.

They were more frequent that night, but not worse than usual: it was only more of the same. The brown-eyed boy taunting me, calling me 'love' and 'darling' until the sound of those words made me sick to my stomach. The scaly hand, tracing my cheeks and my hairline, whispering 'dearie, look up. look at me," until I thought I would scream from the terror that ripped through me with every dreaded syllable.

And the next morning I woke on my own, the sunlight filtering through the barred window, nearly at the end of my self-destructive lockdown. I sucked in a deep breath, knowing Ruby would be sneaking down with my breakfast soon enough.

I stood, stretching the exhaustion from my limbs before beginning to patch up my remaining sanity - although I wasn't sure how much was really left to fix.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, but I really wanted to try and work through this chapter properly. Also, I have to write a mini-paper for my Civics class on whether or not human beings are born good or evil (a question I greatly disagree with the premise of), so that's taking a while. ;) Anyway, this one showed a lot more about the Simon Maeve will remember when the curse breaks, and also there was some George/Spencer hate in the beginning because throughout every episode with that man, all I want to do is slap that stupid smirk off of his stupid face. :) *takes deep, deep breath* I'm calm. Absolutely, completely, and irrevocably **_**calm**_**. ;)**

**So . . . I posted the poll in my profile for the season-one-recap-thing-I-don't-have-a-name-for. If anyone feels like doing that poll, it's now embedded in my profile! :) **

**A huge thanks to everyone reading this fic - I'm at two thousand views now, which is HUGE for me :D - so, thank you everyone who's reading this. You're wonderful. A thank you as well to Summer Jackson, who favourited, followed and reviewed. Thanks. ;D **

**Also, a brief peek at the next chapter: some August/Lindsey sarcasm, Operation Cobra, and some potential Rumple/Maeve flashbacks! :) Hope y'all liked this chapter, and I will be posting again ASAP. Until then, my lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	18. Breaking Down - Again

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or any characters or similar dialogue. Just my own Ocs and their plotlines. :) Enjoy! **

* * *

"Orange pekoe, one cream, two sugars." Ruby pushed the cup of tea across the counter towards me, like she had a thousand times before. But it wasn't the same: everything was different, in the worst possible ways.

"Thanks," I said quietly, wrapping my fingers around the cup, reveling briefly in the sudden warmth. I was constantly cold now, although I still couldn't understand why. Maybe the incredible lack of sleep had something to do with it.

Trying to ignore the stares of everyone else in the diner, I took a long sip of tea. I'd been let out of the hospital's psych ward a day and a half ago, as the evaluation dictated. However, it hadn't been because of my convincing non-crazy case - which had come crumbling apart halfway through my stay in Storybrooke's dungeon - but because I had not, in fact, brutally murdered Kathryn Nolan. How did I know that? Because Kathryn Nolan was alive.

That's right: the presumed-dead woman with the missing vital organ had turned up, disturbed but whole and very not-dead, in a back alley behind Granny's. Which of course meant that no one had killed her and hacked her heart out with a hunting knife, which incidentally also meant that they had no reason to keep me or Mary Margaret locked up for a murder that never happened.

So, I'd been released. That had naturally been after everyone had found out about my supposed psychosis, which had been printed in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror. I was almost flattered that I'd been in the paper, despite the first-degree murder accusation. Archie had cleared me, assuring people that I was not, in fact, an aspiring murderer, although the idea seemed to have stuck with everyone: Lindsey Welles was a psychopath, willing to kill innocent people. I tried to shrug it off, not wanting Caroline or Ruby or anyone to worry, but worry they did, which frustrated me. There I was, attempting to ignore it all and being uncharacteristically optimistic and there they were, acting like the negative and worry-consumed person I was trying so hard not to become.

"What's up?" Ruby had returned from placing an order with the kitchen and was leaning over the counter between us on her elbows. "I know you, Linds - something's wrong."

I shrugged vaguely, taking a sip of tea. "It's just . . . Caroline." I immediately felt a huge wave of guilt wash over me and I bit my lip, clutching my mug tightly. Ruby gave me a sympathetic glance, nodding.

"She's smothering you, isn't she?" I nodded quietly, staring down into my tea.

"It's stupid," I said. "I shouldn't be pissed about it, but I can't help it. I just don't want you lot to worry about me 'cause I'm fine -" At this, Ruby snorted in disbelief. I glanced up sharply, and she held her hands up in mock defense.

"Sorry, Linds, it's just - 'fine'? How stupid do you think we are?" After a moment of confused silence on my end, Ruby sighed heavily. "God, Lindsey: you were put in Storybrooke's mini-asylum, accused of first-degree murder, and the entire town thinks you're nuts - and you want us to believe that you're completely fine? Come on."

I blew gently on my tea. "I get it. Just - don't worry so much. And Caroline - I mean, every time I want to leave the house on my own, she wants to tag along, just to be sure that I'm not ambushed by pitchfork-bearing townsfolk or something." Ruby laughed, although I was entirely serious about this idea: since my stint in the psych ward, everyone had been glaring at or avoiding me.

"Ruby, I've become this town's very own Frankenstein monster."

Just then, Emma came walking into Granny's, and spotted me almost instantly; she hurried over and took the seat next to me, and Ruby flounced off to get her a hot chocolate. I sighed quietly; between Caroline, Ruby, Mary Margaret and Emma, I never had a chance to breathe without someone asking if I was alright.

"You okay, kid?" Emma asked, and I pressed my forehead to my arms, which were crossed and leaning on the counter.

"I wish people would stop asking me that," I mumbled into my skin; Emma seemed to hear, because she laughed softly. I immediately sat upright, staring at her in disbelief. "I'm serious, Emma. I can't go two damn seconds without someone thinking I'm about to have a mental breakdown, and I'm slowly dying on the inside from mortification and annoyance."

I sucked in a deep breath after this small tirade, and Emma looked down at me with an expression close to pity, which I hated. Then the pity disappeared and was replaced with a conspiratorial smile. "I get it. Why don't you come back to the apartment with me? We're throwing a welcome-home party for Mary Margaret, and I figure maybe you could help."

I hesitated. She added, "I swear no one's going to bother you about the psychopath thing." Emma had been told the nasty details of my 'fragile and potentially unstable psychological state', as Archie had so tactfully phrased it.

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Promise?"

She grinned. "Promise."

I cracked a half-smile and said, "Ruby, Emma's going to need that hot chocolate to go."

* * *

"I still can't believe I'm home." Mary Margaret was beaming, holding a glass cup of red punch. The apartment was full of friends and neighbors - Ruby and Granny, Mr Clark from the pharmacy, Walter from the hospital, even the Caulfields - who had made appearances to welcome Mary Margaret back to normalcy. Everyone was cueing up to act like the concerned citizens they claimed to be.

"I know the feeling," I remarked, smiling at the teacher as I poured a glass of punch for Caroline, who had been hovering around me for the past hour and a half. Mary Margaret and I exchanged a knowing glance as my aunt peered down at me worriedly for the thousandth time.

"Caroline, maybe you'd like to catch up with Rosa -" she nodded in the direction of the pear-shaped woman who ran the natural remedies place on Madison "- I heard she just got in some new camomile-based teas." I could see the indecision in Caroline's eyes as she glanced at Rosa; she was into all that old-age mother-nature-healing crap that I set no store in.

"Really?" Then she looked back at me, her brown eyes filling with sudden concern. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I could always stay, catch up with Rosa later, and -"

I shook my head, forcing a smile. "I'm fine - go on and see her. I'll be alright. Emma and Mary Margaret are here, and so's Ruby." Caroline nodded uncertainly, but walked over to Rosa anyway. I shot Mary Margaret a grateful glance. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you," I said quietly, hugging her.

"No problem," she replied, equally as quiet. "Even I can see she's gotten a bit overprotective."

"A bit?" I asked doubtfully, stepping back and raising my eyebrows at the teacher. "She waited outside the bathroom at Granny's for me the other day. She's convinced that the people of this town are going to rise up and demand for my head on a stick or something."

Mary Margaret gave me a reproachful look, although Emma snorted in amusement. "I personally would love to see Miss Ginger at the head of that riot," she remarked, gesturing in the direction of the bespectacled and withered woman seated in the corner, a cane in one hand and a scowl etched into her wrinkled features.

"And of course Mr Herman would be her co-conspirer," I added, and we both seemed to think of Sean's father in his tan housecoat at the same moment, and burst out laughing.

"Oh, stop it, both of you," Mary Margaret admonished, although she was hiding a grin. I winked at her.

"Just having a bit of fun, Mary Margaret - you should join in. After all, a few days ago they would've been leading the riot against you, as well."

She sighed and picked up a fancy-cut glass tray bearing cups of punch, saying "Be nice," to Emma and I before waltzing off to deliver the drinks. The blonde and I exchanged a knowing glance as we watched Mary Margaret hand out the punch to people who would've seen her persecuted a few days before. "I still don't know which of them are really here for her."

"Sucks," I replied to the Sheriff's comment, and spotted Gold across the apartment, lurking in the shadows like he often did. "I'd go talk to Gold, if I were you. He seems very suspicious tonight." Then I scurried off to Ruby, who I needed to break some tragic news to.

* * *

"Good morning, world," I said happily as I walked into the police station the next day, a white bakery box in my hands.

"Morning, Lindsey," Emma called from the next room, and I smirked.

"Sheriff Swan," I said with a sweeping bow in the doorway to her office. Emma glanced at the box in my grip and raised an eyebrow. "Breakfast?"

"Better." I grinned, placing the box onto her desk and flipping the lid open, revealing the pastries inside. "A Lindsey Welles breakfast, fresh from Granny's." Emma laughed and took the bear claw immediately, while I went straight for a cherry crueller.

"This is nothing short of heavenly," I said softly, leaning back in the chair across from the blonde. Emma grinned at me.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, putting down her pastry and picking up a small stack of manila file folders. I shrugged. "Not sure, but there's a ton to choose from now: not being locked up, not being crazy, not going to the Harrington Party . . ."

"Harrington Party?" Emma echoed, confused.

I nodded, taking a bite of crueller. "Yeah. It's this annual thing - the Harringtons are this family that live on the edge of town in this ridiculously big house. It started with their uncle back ages ago, and now the brothers do it: they throw this massive Spring Break party every year. It's pretty much the biggest deal of Storybrooke Marches since forever ago: for teenagers, because they all want to go, and for the police department, because it always ends in disaster. But people still go, every year." I shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do?' sort of way before continuing. "Ruby goes every year, and has been bugging me for months now to come with her this time. But since the whole psychopath-thing, I can't go for fear of being publicly staked."

Emma looked mostly annoyed by this information. "What kind of disasters?"

"It varies with the party - one year, they set fire to a grove of trees on the edge of their property and nearly started a forest fire. Last year Graham had to track down a bunch of guys who went to the party." I grinned at the memory, having helped track down the morons myself. "There were, like, ten idiots, drunk off their asses, and they went running through town, stark naked. They mentally scarred Miss Ginger at about one in the morning, sprinting through her garden."

Emma groaned. "And I have to deal with this?"

"Saturday after next," I replied, nodding. The Sheriff put her head in her hands, looking tired. "God, between that and Sidney -"

"Sidney?" I asked, sitting bolt upright. "What about Sidney?"

There was a moment of silence as Emma watched me cautiously; then she reached into a drawer, pulled something out, and tossed it onto the desk. It clattered across the surface and came to a stop at the bakery box: a small, broken metal bug. I glanced from the bug to Emma and back again, uncomprehending for a moment. Then I said quietly, "That little bastard."

Emma nodded, and I stood, taking the cherry crueller with me. "Call him."

"What?"

"Call him," repeated, fury racing through me. "Call Sidney freaking Glass and tell him you want to schedule a meeting at Granny's in ten." Emma looked baffled, but did as I suggested.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting across from the ex-reporter in a diner booth; he had his fingers laced around a coffee mug nervously as Emma dropped the bug onto the table between us.

"Is that a bug?" he asked, feigning surprise. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Save it, Sidney," Emma snapped, glaring. "I know you planted it in the station and that you reported everything back to that twisted woman. I don't know what she has on you, but it must be massive."

"She's a good mayor," Sidney countered defensively, and I snorted derisively.

"That bitch tried to get Mary Margaret and I convicted of a murder that didn't even happen!" I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice low. Sidney glared at me, and I glared back furiously.

"Regardless," Emma cut in, glancing worriedly at me. "You're in a lot of trouble: there is a DNA trail out there, and I'm going to find it, and then Regina is going to go away."

Sidney shrugged indifferently. "Maybe. But I wouldn't bet against her. She's an amazing woman."

Emma opened her mouth to say something when she froze, gaping in shock at the reporter. "Oh my God, you're in love with her!" She hissed this in surprise, and I reeled back a bit, shocked. Sidney Glass, in love with Regina Mills? It made so much sense that I was a bit embarrassed I hadn't seen it before. "Holy crap," I muttered.

"Whatever," Emma said, as if trying to snap herself out of her reverie of shock. "That's your problem. But just know that you can either help me and help yourself, or go down with her." She stood up and walked out of the diner. I sat there for a moment longer, watching Sidney.

"And they say I'm crazy," I said quietly, pushing up from the table. I hurried after Emma, Sidney watching me run off.

* * *

"So . . . how're things at the station?"

Caroline and I were sitting around the table at home with plates of leftover pizza. She was watching me intently as I ate and flipped through the contents of a file with a yellow highlighter.

I shrugged nonchalantly, scanning the next page: it was a copy of Sidney Glass' recent credit records. "Not much going on, really."

"I heard Sidney's confessed to kidnapping that poor woman, Kathryn Nolan," Caroline said, picking at her pizza. "Sidney from the newspaper, I mean."

I nodded. "Yep, I know who Sidney is." I took another bite of dinner before swiping the highlighter across a purchase Sidney made two weeks previously: several CCs of a sleeping drug at Dark Star pharmacy. I made a quick mental note to ask Tom Clark about it the next day.

"Well, you've got the entirety of his personal life spread across the kitchen table," Caroline pointed out mildly, and I nodded absently before highlighting another purchase. "Lindsey, you know how I feel about you investigating other people's private lives."

I shrugged, not caring. "Moral decency didn't stop everyone in town from thinking I was a psychotic murderer."

Caroline suddenly stood, bringing her barely-touched plate of pizza back to the kitchen counter. I chewed the inside of my cheek, still reading through his credit records when Caroline slammed the folder shut in front of me.

"Lindsey Welles," she said sternly. "Do you honestly believe that people thought you could've hurt Kathryn Nolan?" She sat down next to me, and the look of pity in her eyes was what sent me over the edge.

"Yes, I do, actually - mostly because everyone keeps saying that I should still be locked up!" I threw my highlighter onto the table, but it rolled off and fell to the floor. "People are still staring, still whispering, still thinking I'm completely insane! And you wanna know something?" I clenched my teeth for a second, refusing to cry. "They aren't wrong."

"Lindsey!" Caroline stood up with me, looking concerned.

"I am insane!" I said, almost yelling. I didn't want to yell at her; it wasn't Caroline I was pissed at, really. It was everyone else. But it felt so much better to say it, to finally get the stupid words out of my head. "I hear things, I see things - but Archie let me go anyway, because he is far too nice for his own good!" I was sort of crying by that point, which I hated, but it was too late to take any of the tears back or hide them.

"So yeah, I didn't kill Kathryn," I said, discreetly swiping at the tear tracks on my face. "But I am crazy, Caroline. And I can't just ignore that." I stalked out of the room, guilt and fury and fear all crashing together inside me and making me sick to my stomach.

"Lindsey. Lindsey, stop!" But I didn't stop as Caroline hurried after me; I didn't tell her that it wasn't her I was angry with, or that I was just scared and confused and ticked off at the world. No, being the heartless bitch that I am, I just kept walking, refusing to turn around and let her see me cry. I slammed the door shut behind me and just kept going, not even certain which direction I was walking in. All I noticed was how good it felt to do something.

I walked until I had no idea where I was, and until my feet got too tired to continue. I was on the side of a road, somewhere near the forest, and I was shivering horribly in my tank top and cotton pajama pants. I hadn't even stopped to change, just shoving on my combat boots, unlaced.

I rubbed my arms, trying in vain to calm the goosebumps, sat down on the side of that road, and cried. Not loudly, considering how close I was to town: just tears, streaming uncontrollably down my face. The fear and the guilt and everything was coming down on me now, like someone had just dropped a ton of cement onto my shoulders, making every silent sob painful and tiring.

I, Lindsey Welles, had gone insane - and the entire world knew about it.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry about the short chapter, guys, but I was originally planning to combine episodes 19 and 20 - which obviously didn't happen. I just thought that the episodes' plots were too different, despite August's appearances, to mash them together very well. So now you get an extra chapter! :) Hope that's a good thing. **

**So, Lindsey's officially crazy. And if it wasn't clear, Archie got her to pass the psych evaluation, although she actually is hallucinating and all that. I am also aware that Lindsey was kind of a bitch to Caroline in this chapter, which I felt really bad about. But the thing is, while Regina's curse changed Maeve's personality significantly (ie. lack of homicidal tendencies), she's still Maeve Scarlet. She still hates pity and sympathy towards her. Although how much Regina's curse changed her as a person will be incredibly important towards her relationships with certain characters in season two. :) **

**The poll for whether or not you all want me to post a season one recap/extra thing is still in my profile, so please vote! I don't want to sound desperate or anything, but I really want to know what you guys want me to do with aspects of this story instead of just me dictating everything. So, pretty please vote! Thanks. ;) **

**A massive thank you to my wonderful readers, because you are all wonderful flowers. ;) Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Remember to favourite if you liked it, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Reviews are greatly appreciated, as I love hearing from you guys. :) Until next time my lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	19. Apologies and Raspberry Tea

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or anything from the series (ie. characters, similar dialogue, plotlines that aren't my own). Enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

"I swear, Lindsey, you nearly gave Caroline a coronary." Ruby was watching me reproachfully as I curled up in the corner of the diner's empty booth, shivering horribly.

"Thanks for not taking me upstairs," I whispered, and my best friend pursed her lips, looking like she would rather argue but knew it was probably of no use. She was all too familiar with my typical stubbornness - although, given my current state, I wouldn't have fought back very much. It took every ounce of strength I had left in me to keep from dissolving into a puddle of tears.

"Granny would've called her," I added, as if needing to explain this. Ruby just nodded, glancing around the room worriedly. It was around four in the morning, and we were in the diner alone.

Ruby had discovered me on the side of the road just outside of town, driving around the border. I'd been hysterical, sitting there in the misty air, tears and raindrops coating my face, my fingers and toes numb from the cold. She'd immediately gone to drive me home, but I'd begged her not to, for fear of seeing Caroline like that.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't go back like the deranged person I was trying so hard not to be. If Caroline saw me like that, as completely shattered as I had been in front of Ruby on that road - I honestly didn't want to think about what would have happened. I couldn't let her worry about me to that extent.

"Linds, you can't just stay in the diner forever." Ruby broke the heavy silence that had settled over the room. I was still freezing from my hazy trek, and I shuddered horribly as I sat up in the booth, watching my best friend reach for her cell phone. "Don't."

Ruby glanced over at me, biting her lip. "Lindsey, I found you sobbing on the side of the goddamn road at three in the morning. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as an emergency. I'm calling her." She tapped a number out on the phone's screen, and I shivered in my seat, panicked. Caroline couldn't see me like this. No no no no no, what the hell was Ruby doing?

But then, the miraculous happened. The name that came out of Ruby's mouth was not that of my distressed aunt, but the only person other than Ruby herself that I would trust in this situation.

"Emma?"

So there I was, a few hours later, sitting in Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment, an old blanket wrapped around my shoulders and a cup of tea in front of me. Mary Margaret had been worrying - slightly less than Caroline would be, thank God - while Emma attempted to convince me to see my aunt. But I just shook my head 'no' every time. Not yet. Not now.

I didn't move as August arrived to fix a wooden lock to the apartment door to keep Regina out of it, or when Mary Margaret ran off to school, where she had her first day back. It was only when Mysterious Typewriter Guy sat down next to me that I posed any kind of effort to acknowledge the world around me.

"What?" I meant it to come out snappily, wanting August to know that his stupid questions were not welcome. But instead it was weak and pathetic, and even August seemed to sense that he shouldn't push it with me.

"Just wondering if you were still alive," he joked. It was a terrible joke, but in my ridiculous hysteria, I cracked a small smile. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me to my feet, the blanket slipping off my shoulders and back onto the couch.

"Where are we going?" I asked as August dragged me out of the apartment; I stumbled awkwardly after him, envying the bastard's graceful walk.

"Catching up to Emma," he said, winking. "But first, I'm going to need you to do a few things for me."

I arched an eyebrow. "And those things would be?"

"Illegal things, some of them."

"And why would I be breaking the law for you?"

"So, you won't be breaking any laws today, Miss Welles?"

"I never said that."

* * *

A few hours later, I found myself seated in the back corner of Granny's, several folders spread across my table and a pen in hand, my fingers tapping hastily away at my phone screen as I Googled yet another of August's requested research topics; it appeared as if Mysterious Typewriter Guy had created himself an unsolvable riddle that I would never understand.

I scribbled another note at the bottom of a page and flipped it over, revealing the clean opposite side that would soon be filled with writing as well. August had a lot of research for me to do; it was, however, a welcome distraction. It was mindless, and I needed to not think for a little while.

Suddenly, I saw someone sit in the seat across from me in my peripheral vision. I glanced up, not at all surprised to see my current employer in his black leather jacket and typical mischievous grin.

"Found anything yet?" he asked casually, leaning across the table to pick up one of my folders. I didn't even look up as I smacked his hand away, simultaneously scribbling away on my blank sheet of paper. "Ow!"

"That's what you get when you mess with my research," I said loftily, still writing and tapping on my phone. "And what the hell am I doing research for, anyway? This is the most random crap I've ever seen." August only shrugged, although I caught the smirk he was trying to hide.

"It's . . . complicated," he said finally, and I groaned quietly at the response.

"Is that all you offer the universe? Vague answers and cryptic requests?" I demanded, my eyes flitting from him to the paper so fast that I almost became a blur. I paused to stare intently at the paper before me, scanning the handwriting as quickly as possible.

Satisfied, I pushed the folders across the table to him. "There - now I'm finished." August glowered at me, but I pretended not to notice as I took a sip of tea and smiled to myself: raspberry and lemon. Ruby was trying damn hard to perk me up; although my smile vanished as I remembered why, the previous night crashing down on me like a battering ram.

"Lindsey?" August was snapping his gloved fingers under my nose and I blinked, startled. "What?" It came out a bit harsher than I meant it to, but he didn't seem to care all that much.

"This is great," he said, his expression suddenly wary. I wondered why before recalling that I was the town psychopath - he probably thought I was having a hallucination right there in the diner. Which admittedly had happened before, but I still scoffed at the idea, desperately needing something ridiculous to scoff at. I needed it all to be a horrific nightmare. But it wasn't.

"I'm going to get going, but thanks," he added, standing up and closing one of the folders before tucking it into his jacket. I tilted my head curiously; I hadn't known people actually stuck things inside their jackets in real life.

I was feeling entirely indifferent about August at that particular moment, but I would've begged him to remain in his seat if I'd known that Ruby would take it. She sat there for a few minutes in silence, just staring at me in a way that was both pitying and stern, which infuriated me to no end. Then she said in a low voice, "You have to go home eventually."

I sighed heavily, taking another sip of tea, but Ruby jerked the mug back onto the table, spilling the scalding liquid on the tabletop. "Lindsey, listen to me," she hissed urgently. "Caroline is going out of her mind with worry because you won't let us tell her anything. She needs to know you're alright - she thinks you might still be wandering around in the woods or something!" I felt the stab of guilt that was becoming terribly familiar, but Ruby continued. "Linds, she needs to know you're safe."

For a moment I considered arguing; but that moment was fleeting, and instead I sat in the booth as Ruby stood up and walked off, a wave of regret washing over me like a tsunami. Caroline was freaking out, worrying for my life (again) - and all because I was too damn stubborn to go home and tell her I was okay. I doubt I'd ever hated myself more than in that exact moment.

* * *

_Wary glances and glares followed me across the room as I took my seat at the council table, between Snow White and one of her infuriating dwarves. He shot me a furious glance, although his expression morphed into a tight smile at a single look from Snow on my other side._

_He held out his hand, and I knew he didn't want to. "You're Coughy or Coldy or whatever?" I asked. Then the dwarf let out an earth-quaking sneeze._

_"Sneezy, actually," he said, shaking my hand. I nodded, discreetly wiping my hand on the underside of the table. "Naturally."_

_I glanced over to see Prince James giving me dirty glances before finally saying, "Snow, I don't like her sitting so close to you. Especially in your current state." His bright blue eyes flitted quickly down to Snow's incredibly pregnant stomach._

_Snow placed a hand on James' arm, trying to calm him. "It's alright. She'll be fine, she just -"_

_"No, Frosty, he has a point," I said, smirking at the prince. "Tell me then, Charming, just what is your issue with my presence?" James' hand tightened into a fist when I used Snow's nickname for him, and my smirk widened._

_"Well, for one you're a mass murderer," he said, and I shrugged dismissively. _

_"If you hadn't noticed, Your Highness, nearly everyone at this damn table has killed someone or another. So don't start shoving your righteousness at me, and we won't have a bloody problem." And with that, I turned back to focus on the other council members, all of whom were giving me the same angry and wary glances as the prince._

_I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Come off it - you all know I'm right." No one said anything, which satisfied me enough. I leaned back in my seat, waiting impatiently for the council to start._

_I understood why they were all so uptight about my presence: Snow White, beloved princess and vanquisher of darkness, inviting the infamous assassin with suspicious and nefarious intentions to join her royal council? It was enough to make any sane person question their leader. Of course, I hadn't been sane in quite some time. I rather hated the council - all they ever did was talk about how to benevolently handle their enemies, waiting until the very last second to do anything even remotely offensive. I, Maeve Scarlet, would not be caught dead with the goody-goodies of the Enchanted Forest. That being said, I rarely attended council meetings; this was probably why my presence worried everyone so much. If I was showing up, then things were really bad. _

_And things were bad. Really, really, really bad._

_Evil Queen unleashing an unknown Dark Curse onto the entire land, wiping out our population in about a day and, to quote Her Majesty herself, 'destroy our happiness'? Yeah, that was pretty bad._

_Snow and Charming stood up and addressed the council as a whole, informing everyone about Regina's newest scheme. A few people gasped, everyone looking terrified and shocked; I just sighed. Were these people honestly surprised that the Evil Queen was doing something evil? _

_"We consulted Rumplestiltskin," Snow continued, and I chewed the inside of my cheek to hide my nervousness. Rumple? I hadn't known they would visit his prison; it'd been months since I'd last seen him. I almost missed the bastard. _

_"Gepetto will create a wardrobe out of an enchanted tree trunk," the Blue Fairy said from the middle of the room, where she floated over the table. There was a brief moment in which her eyes met mine, and I narrowed my eyes in a cold glare. _

_"I don't know why we can't just kill her before she casts this curse," I said nonchalantly, absently picking at my nails. When I glanced up, everyone at the table was staring at me in surprise and horror. I rolled my eyes. "What? It would be a hell of a lot simpler, wouldn't it?"_

_The Blue Fairy sniffed disdainfully, glancing at me in obvious revulsion. "Of course you would think only of violence and darkness, considering your lineage -" My fingers tightened in the wooden table._

_"You're really going to go there, are you, bug?" I said quietly, glaring. Blue looked surprised as being addressed thus, but did nothing but hem and haw for a minute._

_Snow glanced over at me curiously. "Lineage?"_

_I shook my head at her. "Not relevant at the moment, Frosty. Maybe I'll tell you another time." Charming shot me another dirty glance and I sighed, already annoyed with the council meeting. "Is this stupid meeting over yet? I was kind of busy today - you know, places to burn, people to kill, all that."_

* * *

I was on my sixth cup of tea, and it was nearing dark. There were only a few people left at Granny's, including Ruby and her grandmother, and I was still sitting in my corner booth, hidden from most angles in the diner - and from the wary stares. No one was over my stint in the nuthouse, least of all me.

August hadn't called me yet, as he had promised, to tell me what all the research had been for. He'd seemed so cryptic and mischievous when he'd said it that I could hardly wait for my phone to go off; but it had been several hours and nothing but radio silence, accompanied by six mugs of raspberry tea.

Suddenly, Ruby slid into the seat opposite me, her eyes narrowed in frustration. She'd been giving me moral lectures all day, but I refused to budge; I couldn't go home, couldn't face Caroline after my not-so-minor mental breakdown the night before.

Before Ruby even opened her mouth to speak I shook my head, saying, "Not a chance." She groaned in annoyance and put her head in her hands.

"Lindsey, it's been a whole day. You haven't so much as called Caroline - who, by the way, is one of the few people who doesn't think you're completely nuts."

I sipped my tea, trying in vain to ignore the now-familiar stab of guilt at these words. "So?"

"So get off your ass, Lindsey, and tell her you aren't dead." Ruby pulled my mug of tea away from me and stalked off, so angry that she almost tripped in her heels on her way back to the kitchen. I sighed heavily, knowing that she was right.

* * *

_"Izzy!" My voice sounded bizarrely loud in the quiet cottage, which was dimly lit and dusty. That was odd: Izzy never left a surface unclean. _

_"Isadora, it's me!" I tried again, taking cautious steps into the small kitchen, where a pot dangled above the fireplace, filled with bubbling water. Worry washed over me and I spun around at the tiniest of sounds, finding myself face-to-face with a petite, mousy-haired woman._

_"Mae!" Izzy wrapped her arms around me and laughed softly into my cloak. I laughed back before pulling her away from me and saying, "I thought you were gone."_

_We both knew that 'gone' meant far more than just out, but she opted to say nothing about it. "No, I'm fine. I thought you were the queen's guard." _

_I bit my lip anxiously at the mention of the queen. "About Regina . . . there's kind of an issue." Izzy looked at me expectantly, and I said the next few words in a hasty rush. "She's let out the dark curse and plans to rip away everyone's happiness."_

_For a moment there was silence. Then Izzy wrapped her arms around me again and whispered reassuringly, "Then we should probably get ready, shouldn't we?"_

* * *

It was nearly midnight as I hurried anxiously up the driveway of our small brownstone. Twenty-four hours since my psychological destruction took place. I sucked in a deep breath as I stepped up to the front door. Then, carefully, I knocked.

The door instantly swung open and Caroline was standing there in her pajamas, looking ruffled. She stared at me in wide-eyed anxiety for a minute before hugging me fiercely, pulling me into the house. I was baffled beyond belief, looking up at her in confusion.

"But - I left," I stammered, my confusion obvious in my voice.

Caroline nodded, smiling down at me. "Yeah, you did. That, by the way, was a really stupid idea, Linds - but maybe it was necessary. You needed space." I hugged her back, just as tightly. "I'm sorry. I screwed up, and I am so sorry."

* * *

_We sat in the sitting room together, holding hands. Izzy gave me a reassuring glance, although I could see how worried she was. How terrified she was._

_"It's okay," I said quietly, listening: the winds had picked up a minute or two ago. Thunder rumbled across the sky, and I had known the curse was on its way._

_"It'll be alright," I continued, and Izzy managed a nod and a faint smile. "We'll be fine."_

_Suddenly, the windows were smashed apart was thick, purple-black smoke filled the room, swirling around us like a miniature thunderstorm. Izzy and I exchanged a petrified look as it circled us, like a predator circling its prey._

_"Together, right?"_

_She nodded. "Definitely together."_

_Then the smoke converged, and our little world was swallowed whole._

* * *

**Author's Note: A massive apology for such a short chapter, but once again I don't want it to be Lindsey/Maeve inserted into the story. I really want to make her own storyline, so there might not be much of Emma soon. Anyway - nineteen chapters! :) Wow. **

**So, the season finale chapter is fast-approaching, so please vote in the poll (in my profile) to let me know if you want me to post a season-one-recap thing. Please let me know, because I would rather be writing things I'll actually post for you guys. :) **

**A massive thank you to everyone reading this fic - I honestly didn't think it would ever get this far along, so thank you thank you thank you to all of you! You're all wonderful flowers. ;) And also, a thank you to Summer Jackson - your reviews are hugely appreciated and incredibly nice, so thank you! :) **

**Next chapter will be a lot more interesting, and you'll finally get to see more of Maeve and Snow's relationship pre-curse. :) Also, thank you for reading this! ;) Remember to follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Reviews are greatly appreciated, so . . . yeah. Please review. ;D Also, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time my lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	20. An Apple Red as Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters/dialogue/plotlines. This is only to further my writing style and hopefully enjoy myself along the way. ;) Please enjoy this update!**

* * *

_"Your Majesty," I said sarcastically, giving a mock-curtsey and a smirk in the king's direction._

_George stood, his watery eyes wide with fear and surprise as I stepped further into his throne room, my long black cloak sweeping the floor gently around my boots. "How did you get inside here?" he demanded, and I sighed melodramatically._

_"George, George . . . I'm disappointed in you. I'm Lady Scarlet," I said, throwing extra emphasis on the title. "Do you honestly need to ask?"_

_The king was standing beside his throne, gripping it as though he might fall over without the support. He always was rather pathetic, and my ability to strike so much fear into his heart was one of the only reasons I was letting him live. He was, after all, quite entertaining, and so easy to wind up - easier than Rumple._

_"How long have you been here?" he asked, his voice filled with nervousness. _

_My smirk broadened. "Oh, a little while now. I was down in the courtyard earlier; saw the whole show." George's face paled a bit at the mention of the events from earlier, and I nodded at the king. "Yes, I saw that. Nasty incident if Regina hadn't stepped in, though, wouldn't it have been?"_

_"Yes, indeed," George replied unsteadily. "But the situation was handled by the Queen, and -"_

_"And you . . . what? You think that's the end of it?" I asked, feigning shock. A short laugh escaped my lips. "That's adorable, George, really." Then my smile disappeared and I was glaring at the king from across his throne room, slowly making my way towards him. "Is that the end of it, George?" _

_"Yes?" He took a step back, but the throne was already against the wall. He was trapped._

_"You don't sound so sure, sweetheart," I said mockingly, standing a mere foot from the now-trembling king. "Allow me to enlighten you: I am Lady Scarlet." I drew my knife, sliding my index finger along its gleaming silver edge. "I am the most feared assassin in the entire realm, George. Prince James is under my protection." I leaned in a bit closer, my stare menacing. "And you just tried to behead him."_

_George swallowed nervously, but before I could get around to slitting the moron's throat a small cough came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, mildly curious, keeping my dagger against the skin of the king's neck: Rumple was standing there, looking amused._

_"Having a bad day, milady?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes. _

_"As bad as they ever are, Rumple," I replied, turning my attention back to the knife I had pressed against George's throat. But Rumple coughed again and I whirled around, annoyed. "What?"_

_"Just came to give you a quick heads-up," he said with a manic grin. "Regina is laying her trap for your little princess as we speak. Perhaps you'll leave his death -" he gestured indifferently towards George "- for another time. There are far more pressing issues at hand."_

_I sighed and after a minute sheathed my dagger. I looked George in the eyes before hissing angrily, "I will be back." Then I stalked out of the throne room, my cloak swirling around my legs as I hurried towards Rumple, who had an arm held out for me._

_I looped my arm through his and we spun into the queasy darkness of teleporting._

* * *

I stood before Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment door, preparing to knock when footsteps hurried towards it. I backed up just in time to avoid being hit by a half-jogging Emma Swan, who looked deeply troubled. I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, but she just shook her head at me. Then the blonde took off down the hallway.

Poking my head into the apartment, I half-expected Mary Margaret to be in a massive fit of rage or something. I doubted anything else could've freaked Emma out that much. But the teacher was standing quite calmly at the kitchen counter, a mug in her hands.

"Everything alright?" I asked tentatively; I hadn't spoken to Mary Margaret very much lately. "Just saw Emma running down the hallway like damnation was following, and -"

"She tried to leave." The words weren't shouted as if the woman were keeping a secret; they were spoken quietly, as if she didn't want to think about them being true. My eyebrows flew up in confusion, and Mary Margaret attempted to clarify while I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

"Emma. She, um - she tried to leave. Took Henry with her." I was too stunned to say much of anything at first. Mary Margaret gestured to the couch, and I sat down next to her. It had been a while since I'd been at a loss for words, and I remembered why I didn't enjoy the feeling.

"Damn," I muttered finally. "She took him with her?" Mary Margaret nodded, looking both sad and furious. She sipped her tea through pursed lips, and held her mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"But hey, she came back, right?" I was attempting very much to cheer her up - she seemed like she needed some good news. Of course, I had never been very skilled at the business of Cheering People Up, so my attempt fell flat on its metaphorical face and scurried from the room, embarrassed.

"But she tried to leave," Mary Margaret said quietly, as if thinking out loud to herself. I shrugged, considering the situation far more diplomatically than I thought possible for me.

"I don't know," I said at last. "Maybe she was just doing what she thought was right. I mean, everyone's been telling her that the only person getting hurt is Henry and all that lately, so maybe - I don't know, maybe she wanted to try and get him away from all of that." The explanation sounded lame even to me, and Mary Margaret shook her head.

"She abducted him, Lindsey. That's - I mean, well . . . that's -"

"Bad?" I guessed. "Really, really bad?"

The woman nodded soberly. "Really, really bad."

I nodded in response, digesting that information. Then I sighed heavily, my outlook summarized quite beautifully in my next statement. "Well, shit."

* * *

_As the Evil Queen sashayed back into her chambers, she carefully placed the shining apple onto her dresser, watching it with a triumphant satisfaction._

_"Well, damn," I said from the back of the room. Regina's back stiffened and she whipped around, watching me warily as I stepped forwards. "I didn't think I'd get to sneak into two castles today. Life is full of delightful surprises, isn't it?" I smirked._

_"What are you doing here?" Regina's voice would've terrified some of her subjects, but I was no idiot; I knew the tinge of something extra in her voice, something deliciously similar to fear. She wasn't by any means scared of me, but I made her anxious, and that was a gift I enjoyed using._

_"I was in the neighborhood, love," I said, waving a hand carelessly. "Thought I'd say hello. It has been ages. When was the last time we saw each other?" I tapped my chin thoughtfully, then grinned wickedly. "Oh, right - when you invited me on that carriage ride to prove your fearlessness in my presence or whatever."_

_Regina let out a sound of disdain. "What exactly do you want, Lady Scarlet?" I raised an eyebrow quizzically._

_"Right to business, of course," I said. "I see your trip with those children was . . . productive." I nodded in the direction of the apple. "An apple red as blood . . . terrifying metaphor to be sure, Your Highness." _

_"I'll ask you one more time: what do you want?" The Queen seemed to be getting frustrated now; I grinned at that. Plucking up the apple and tossing it back and forth idly between my hands, I took a few steps closer to Regina._

_"What do I want? Hmm, that's an excellent question, Your Majesty." Regina reached forward, alarm clear in her expression as I tossed around the apple; but I held it just out of her reach. "I want you to consider . . . diplomacy." The word tasted sour in my mouth and I gave a small, disgusted shiver._

_"Diplomacy?" Regina reeled back a bit, bewildered, not even staring after her weapon of mass destruction anymore. "What would you know about diplomacy?"_

_I shrugged, forcing the next few words out and trying to hide my annoyance. "More than you, apparently. Ever heard of a parlay?" The Queen said nothing, and I cracked a half-smile. "You have, then? Good. It's my professional opinion that you should consider conducting one with dear Snow White."_

_Regina raised an eyebrow. "Since when are you interested in the fate of princesses?"_

_"Since now," I shot back, annoyed. "I have a sort of . . . investment in Miss White, you could say. And I put quite a lot of work into that investment."_

_Then, to my surprise, Regina laughed. "You honestly thought I would believe that excuse? Who are you, Rumplestiltskin? 'I'm invested in your future'." The Queen laughed some more, and I glowered at her. I knew it was immature, but I didn't care; she was mocking my proposition._

_"This is about her status, isn't it?"_

_That question jarred me back to reality. "What?"_

_Regina sighed melodramatically. "Not as a princess, Lady Scarlet - as an orphan." I scowled, and the woman laughed again, this time without as much humour. "You always did have a soft-spot for them, didn't you?"_

_"Irrelevant," I snapped, and Regina's dark eyes glittered with triumph; I'd confirmed her theory. But for the moment I didn't care about her stupid theory. I cared about the results of this meeting. "Consider my proposition, Regina."_

_"Or what?" The Queen smiled at me, and now I knew she was gaining her confidence. Around me it took a minute or two, my presence reminding her of a not-so-great series of memories, but it always came back quickly enough._

_I stepped back towards the door, anger growing in my chest. "Darling, you don't want to find out."_

* * *

"Another, I presume?" I glanced up to see Ruby standing behind the counter of the diner, gesturing to my empty mug. I nodded silently and she walked off to retrieve a fresh teabag.

"You've had two already," Mary Margaret said from beside me, and I turned to look at her in astonishment. "You're counting my teas now?"

The woman held up her hands defensively. "Not judging, Lindsey - just observing. You don't think three mugs of tea in an hour and a half is a bit much?" I shook my head and pressed my forehead to the counter.

"I'm in a sad mood, Mary Margaret. Let me be sad and have my sad tea." Ruby placed a steaming mug in front of me and I sniffed it curiously; I'd long since given up on choosing teas and allowed my best friend to surprise me, trusting my best friend to pick a decent kind. "Let me guess . . . jasmine?" Ruby nodded and I took a sip, then shrugged. "Not bad."

"In that case, my job here is done," she said happily, then flounced away in her heels. I envied her ability to be so at ease with the world.

I glanced over at Mary Margaret to see the woman staring across the diner; I followed her gaze and saw Emma sitting across from Archie Hopper, both of them talking heatedly. I frowned and muttered, "She was really gonna leave?"

Mary Margaret nodded and I turned back to my mug, sufficiently sad. I took another sip, even though the hot water scalded my throat a bit. Only tea could fix this problem.

* * *

_I strode into the throne room of George's castle, my cloak billowing out behind me. _

_"I have to go - I just -" Snow's voice was cut off as I threw open the double doors and marched inside, my hand still on the hilt of my dagger. She and her entire group spun around to witness my rather loud entrance. _

_"Maeve?" Suddenly, Snow wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a brief hug. I felt unbelievably awkward in her embrace, and felt a rush of relief as she let go. I stepped back hurriedly before anyone else made the same mistake._

_"Honestly, I could've helped with all of that," I remarked, gesturing to the hallway behind me, which was littered with unconscious soldiers of King George. "I mean, there I was, talking Regina's ear off about diplomacy and parlays and all that goody-goody crap that you lot are into. And here you are, stealing castles and dethroning corrupt royals." My lips quirked up in a small smile. "You know, Frosty, I think I'm feeling something close to pride."_

_Behind Snow, Red and her grandmother gaped at me in surprise; the seven dwarves watched me in both fear and wariness. I opted to ignore the strange stares and switched back to focusing on Snow's words: she was explaining the incident with Regina, and the impending parlay._

_"Then, you don't go," I said flatly. Red nodded in agreement, and I flashed her a quick smirk; her grandmother put a hand on the girl's shoulder protectively, and I looked away and back to the princess before me. _

_"I have to go," Snow said, almost pleadingly. "She has James; she knows I'll come to rescue him and, honestly, too many people have already gotten hurt because of our feud. I need to end this, Maeve. Now." She unsheathed her other weapons and placed them firmly on the circular table in the center of the room._

_"You're serious?" I demanded, taken aback. "You're actually going to walk straight into her trap? I thought you were smarter than that, Frosty."_

_Snow shook her head and began her march to the double doors I had just thrown open. "I can't trick her again. I can't keep avoiding this - this confrontation has to happen. One of us has to end this; maybe I can." And with that, she hurried through the doors and towards her certain doom._

_For a moment, awkward silence stretched out over the room. Then Red said, "So . . . what do we do now?"_

_"It's obvious, isn't it?" I asked. "We follow her."_

_One of the dwarves - Angry or something - spoke up then, saying, "She told us the rules of the parlay. She has to go alone."_

_I shook my head in frustration. "You aren't getting it: either we go too, or she dies."_

* * *

_The shouts came from up ahead, and I began following the sounds: thudding footsteps and quick talking could be heard from over the hill. I hurried up the grassy slope, bow in hand, one arrow already notched._

_"What -?" I froze on the top of the hill, staring blankly at the group of huddled dwarves, Red and her grandmother kneeling next to a very familiar body._

_Red glanced over at me, her eyes sad, and slowly shook her head. "She has no breath." The girl handed her silver dagger back to her grandmother and lowered her hooded head. "She's gone."_

_I just stood there, baffled, as Snow White's body was grieved over by her friends. I felt numb, my fingers slipping on the fletched end of my arrow; it clattered from the bow to the ground. It was too strange, too ridiculous: Snow White, the beloved princess and defender of the weak, dead?_

_Taking small, cautious steps forwards, I came to stand beside the princess' corpse. I stared down at her face: she looked peaceful, almost as if she were asleep. For a moment the red apple flitted across my memory, and I recalled the sleeping curse as I watched her; but curses didn't always go to plan. Magic was unpredictable sometimes, and no breath didn't sound like sleeping._

_"What the hell?" I muttered, still confused. Picturing Snow dead was nearly impossible for me; she was simply full of life. And yes, she was far too perky and optimistic and patient for me to often agree with - but in an odd way, we were friends. And she was dead._

_I silently added her to the growing list of people the Mills' family had taken from me. _

* * *

I was curled up on my bed at about eleven that night, a half-empty mug of lemon tea on my nightstand and my notebook next to me. I was almost asleep, drifting between dreaming and reality, staring at one of my earliest sketches: a heart, covered in dark patches, held in someone's hand. Such an odd image to come from even a nightmare.

It was then that a siren sat me bolt upright in bed, startling me. I stretched tiredly and peered out my bedroom window, my eyes widening in horror and confusion as I spotted the ambulance outside of the apartment building next door.

I moved to hurry from the room when Caroline burst in, looking incredibly worried. She was a worrier, my aunt, but even then I knew that something significant had happened. Something awful.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, glancing back outside in curiosity and fear every few minutes. The ambulance was still there, and I could see someone being carried out of the building.

"It's Henry," Caroline said, a bit breathless. "Something's happened."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, ducklings! :) Apologies for the short chapter, but I couldn't think of much to add for the plot of this episode. Lindsey wouldn't be with Emma, and Mary Margaret probably needed some company. Also some King George hate there, 'cause why not? ;) **

**Anyway, I'm going to be posting the season one recap after all! :) It's completely finished, with just a few editorial touches left, and I really hope you guys like it. It's just a collection of drabbles/deleted scenes and things concerning this fic's version of season one that I've kept. :) **

**A huge thank you to the wonderful readers of this story, and I hope y'all enjoyed this addition. ;) I tried to outline Maeve and Snow's relationship pre-curse, to sort of explain how she knew the Charming family in the EF. **

**Next chapter will be posted ASAP, and - ONLY TEN DAYS LEFT! :D Ten days 'til OUAT is off hiatus and season four is aired, which is exciting as hell! :) I'm actually super-excited to see how they incorporated and adapted Frozen into the story, as I adore Anna and Elsa's characters (not to mention the flawless casting). ;) Exciting! Also, remember to follow if you want to read more of this fic, and review if you have anything to say. :) Until next time, lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	21. Magic Is Coming

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters/plotlines/anything else I might be forgetting. Only Maeve and Isadora/Caroline. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"This is bad. This is really, really, really bad." I was standing next to Caroline as the ambulance drove off, siren blasting at full volume as it shot down the street. Mary Margaret was standing outside, looking incredibly worried; I'd seen Emma climb into the ambulance.

"Yes," Caroline said faintly, her eyes brimming with horror and shining with unshed tears. "Yes, it is."

I quickly wrapped an arm around my aunt's shoulders and carefully guided her back into the house, towards the kitchen. Caroline looked as if she might have argued, but one firm look from me was enough to cease any argument before it even began. Immediately, I began taking things out of cupboards and pouring water into our old-fashioned kettle.

"Tea, " I muttered numbly. "We need tea. Lots of tea." I switched on the kettle and placed two teabags into two huge mugs on the kitchen counter. Then I seated Caroline at the small dining table, and she placed her trembling hands on the frilly white tablecloth that I'd always hated.

I took the seat across from her, chewing the inside of my lip worriedly. Henry was taken off to the hospital in the middle of the night, and was looking pretty awful when Emma had helped carry him outside the apartment building: pale and definitely unconscious.

"He'll be okay." These words were out of my mouth before even realised what I was saying. And I knew that the words were meaningless, but lack of meaning did not create lack of usefulness: Caroline needed to hear something like that. Something hopeful, something that would have been said on one of those helpline radio shows she liked and I despised. "Henry, I mean. He'll be fine. Honestly, the kid's tough; he'll be okay." But this was ridiculous: Henry Mills was persistent, frustrating and incredibly kind, but he was not 'tough'.

But Caroline nodded anyway, her hands losing a small amount of their tremor. The kettle was whistling away on the stovetop, but I didn't want to stand to turn it off. Suddenly, the tea seemed like a stupid idea; but tea was the closest I could find to comfort, and we all needed that desperately. Tea always helped.

A knock sounded from the front door and my back stiffened, an inexplicable prickle of fear running through me. I wasn't sure why I was scared; it just seemed like an appropriate reaction. As if Henry had somehow gotten worse in the ten minutes that he'd been gone.

Another knock followed, then another, and another, and I finally pushed back from the table and marched to the front door, a bit unsure on my feet. Everything seemed a bit slow and clumsy at the moment, as if time had slowed down by a few nanoseconds and my brain was racing to catch up. I swung the door open and at first I didn't realise who I was staring at: then the name clicked - Mary Margaret - and I simply nodded and moved to let the woman inside.

She followed me back to the kitchen in silence, although her gait was much less unsteady than mine, and she took a seat between me and Caroline. Then she was the one to finally stand and switch off the kettle, whose whistling had become a dull background music to the buzzing silence in my head.

"Tea," I muttered, standing up again and dropping a third teabag into a third mug on the counter. Mary Margaret poured the scalding water into them. "Tea always helps."

* * *

_My fingers ran along the hilt of my dagger as I strode through the trees of the Infinite Forest, anger and grief swirling together in my stomach and making my pulse race. _

_I appeared on the edge of the small clearing just as Prince James marched off, a decorative golden egg in one hand and an unsheathed sword in his other. I had half a mind to yell after him, to tell him about Snow; but I knew he would soon find out, and that he wouldn't want to hear the news from someone like me. _

_"You really shouldn't taunt him like that, Rumple." My voice was louder than I thought possible, and thankfully betrayed none of my sadness. It was the same tone I'd often used around the Dark One: mocking, sarcastic and cold. "It's unbecoming; bad form, you know."_

_Rumple growled something unintelligible and I smirked. "That is what your little nemesis with the unique extremity would say, isn't it? Claw or Talon or whatever?"_

_"Hook," Rumple spat, as if the name was poison in his mouth. My smirk grew, and the Dark One simply glared at me. "What do you want, Lady Scarlet?"_

_My smirked twitched into a thin line as I continued. "Presumably you are aware of Snow White's fate?" Now it was my lips that the toxic words came from; they scalded my tongue and I felt a sudden lurch in my stomach, as if I were about to be sick._

_Rumple's mouth stretched into a grotesque parody of a smile. "Yes, I am. The Queen's doing, of course?" I could barely nod; the Dark One continued smiling, and I resisted the urge to walk over and slap him._

_Unfortunately, that urge could not be resisted forever._

_He held a hand to his cheek, which my hand had just cracked across. He didn't appear to be in any pain, and I felt slight disappointment; but the fury burning in his eyes was something. Rumple flicked his wrist and I flew backwards a few feet, slamming into a tree trunk. _

_"Do not try anything like that ever again, dearie," he said, his voice lacking the usual mocking tone; it was dead serious, every word spoken tightly, as if he were trying not to shout them. "Or there will be consequences."_

_I laughed bitterly, leaning my head back against the rough tree bark. "Doesn't matter," I said quietly, although I knew Rumple could hear me. _

_"I'm being serious, Lady Scarlet," he said, his voice still constricted._

_"So am I," I whispered, my anger returning and raising my voice in the process. "IT DOESN'T MATTER!"_

_I glanced over at the Dark One, who was staring at me as if I'd finally gone insane. I laughed again, a bit hysterically, as that thought crossed my mind: 'finally gone insane'. Hadn't I already lost my mind?_

_"You cared about her," he said quietly. "You actually cared."_

_There was a long moment in which neither of us said anything, and then Rumple nodded to himself, clearly taking my silence as a yes. "Well, then, dearie: congratulations. You've finally learned how to care."_

_I felt a single, burning tear trace down my cheek. "Yeah - and it's awful."_

* * *

"It's going to be okay, Linds."

Caroline and I were standing beside Henry's hospital bed, my aunt's arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly. The ten-year-old himself was laying very still on the starched sheets, his eyes closed, his breathing controlled by a machine. It was bizarrely surreal.

"Yeah, I know," I whispered back, and Caroline smiled sadly. But it wouldn't be okay: that I was certain of. Something terrible had already happened, but somehow I knew that something worse would follow. Something was coming.

But I wasn't nearly stupid enough to voice these feelings to Caroline. She had just gotten calmed down from the night before, her shaking hands and tearful eyes gone; everything was returning to normal for my aunt. Not for me, but of course I hadn't been 'normal' in quite some time.

"Everything's going to be fine." I opted to say something optimistic for Caroline, who seemed to appreciate my attempt at positivity. "Where's Emma and Regina? I figured they'd be here, freaking out and such."

Caroline sighed quietly. "I'm not sure where Miss Swan and Miss Mills are, but I'm sure they've already visited. It must be painful," she added with another sigh. "Seeing your only child like this."

I nodded absently, although I was still thinking about Emma and Regina's disappearance: those two would never leave the kid's side unless something important was happening. And if something important was happening with the Sheriff, then the deputy-in-training/unpaid-sheriff-intern deserved to know.

"I, um - I have to go," I said hastily, backing quickly out of the hospital room. "I promised Ruby I'd see her for lunch, so -"

"Yes, you go ahead," Caroline said, still watching Henry worriedly. "I'll see you at dinner?"

I didn't answer.

* * *

_"Awful, is it?" Rumple was still teasing me, traipsing around the clearing as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Caring?"_

_I nodded and stumbled to my feet, the back of my head aching from where it slammed into the tree. Shaking away my dizziness, I glared at the imp standing before me. "Where did you send him?" I asked; I hadn't said James' name, but I knew Rumple well enough to know that he would understand my question._

_"The Prince? I sent him off to rescue his one twu love," he said mockingly, that revolting grin stretching across his face again. _

_My eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Snow?" A jolt of surprise ran through me, followed by relief and mild embarrassment. "Sleeping curse," I muttered to myself. "It worked. She's not actually dead. I am so stupid!"_

_Rumple shrugged. "Can't argue with that logic, milady. Soon enough, our Prince Charming will be rescuing his bonnie lass and whisking her off to some happily ever after somewhere. After his task, of course."_

_"What task?"_

_"Well, I couldn't just let him walk away with something so powerful, could I?" Rumple was circling the clearing now, and the way he walked reminded me disturbingly of a predator stalking its prey. "I needed payment; he's off to get it for me now."_

_"What's your payment?" I demanded; Rumple said nothing. "What is it, Rumple." _

_"Maleficent," he spat. "He has to fight Maleficent."_

_I sucked in a sharp breath and turned to run after James; but Rumple grabbed my wrist, stopping me rather effectively. "Let go of me!" I hissed furiously._

_"He owes me a debt, dearie," he whispered menacingly. "He must pay it himself, along, without your help or expertise."_

_I wrenched myself free from the Dark One's grip; I could already feel the bruises forming on my arm. "So I'm supposed to just let him die?" The words sounded foreign coming from my mouth: all I'd ever done was let people die. Let them suffer. Let them rot, while I stood victorious._

_Rumple seemed to realise just how bizarre the situation was, and stared down at me in astonishment. "What the hell happened to you?"_

_I shook my head, dizziness overcoming me once again. "I have no idea." _

* * *

"Caroline? Caroline!" I strode through the hospital waiting room, searching for my aunt. I quickly spotted her in front of Henry's ward, standing next to Mary Margaret, both women looking incredibly somber.

"Where have you been?" Caroline asked, and I shrugged. I'd been everywhere, all afternoon, searching for Emma: nothing. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Sheriff, and worry had begun to gnaw at me as I envisioned Regina murdering my boss in a fit of rage.

Perhaps I was a bit melodramatic.

Caroline wrapped me up in a tight hug and I squirmed out of it, baffled. "You okay? I got your text, so -"

"It's Henry," Mary Margaret explained, her eyes downcast. I peered past her into the ward and my breath caught sharply in my throat as I saw the state of the kid. "What happened?"

"I don't know," the woman said, clearly distraught. "I was just reading to him, and then he just - well, that happened." She gestured vaguely towards the room, and I nodded silently, digesting this information. A tear slipped down Caroline's cheek.

"I'm going to stay here, just in case," my aunt said, wiping the tear away. "Mary Margaret, you could go if it's easier. I'm sure Lindsey could keep you company." She gave me a pointed glance, although I already would've agreed.

"Absolutely," I said, nodding and looping an arm through one of Mary Margaret's. "You've been here all afternoon, darlin'. You should take a break, especially after - well, after that." I nodded in the direction of the ward, and the teacher nodded sadly. "Yeah, I guess."

I walked with her out of the hospital and into the brisk afternoon, which held the promise of a mildly cool spring. We walked slowly down the street, Mary Margaret silent, my combat boots clacking on the sidewalk. There didn't seem to be anything to say.

So we remained silent.

* * *

_"Snow's alive," I whispered to myself, sprinting down the road. "Snow's alive, she's alive, she's okay, Snow's alright, she's alive." It was like an insane mantra that I refused to cease repeating. Snow was alive: I needed to know for certain._

_"Snow's alive." My dagger was pitched forwards, catching the fabric of a royal guard's cloak and pinning him to a tree. "She's okay." I sent my elbow into his forehead, and he crumpled to the ground as I removed my dagger and sheathed it. "She's alive." I leapt onto the back of the guard's horse. _

_"Snow's alive." And I rode off towards the dwarf mines._

_It took two days of riding, but I finally reached the dwarf mines. The moment I spotted the lit cottages in the trees, I pulled the royal horse to a stop and leapt off, leaving it to wander the road. It wasn't a stupid animal._

_"It's Snow!" I yelled, sprinting through the copses of trees. "It's Snow! She's alive! She's okay!" I burst through the final line of trees, towards the dwarf residence, still yelling at the top of my lungs. "Snow's alive." My voice failed me for a moment as I stopped dead in my tracks: before me was Prince James, hand in hand with a very-alive Snow White. _

_"Maeve?" Snow beamed. "Maeve!" The princess ran forwards and pulled me into a tight hug - and, for once, I did not object. _

_"Hey, Frosty," I said nonchalantly, still panting a bit. Snow grinned down at me. "Hi, Maeve."_

_"The sleeping curse," I said between much-needed deep breaths. "It was - I mean, it worked. You were just sleeping." James and the dwarves were gaping at me as if I had burst through the trees stark naked, but Snow seemed delighted by my sudden appearance. "We thought - I mean, you weren't breathing, so -"_

_"I understand." Snow looked incredibly amused by the situation. "I would've thought the same thing." That was when I noticed the golden band that was wrapped around her finger._

_"Charming? Really?" I glanced over at the prince skeptically, and James glared at me; but Snow just laughed. "You're sure about him, Frosty? 'Cause sometimes I wonder about ulterior motives and the like -"_

_"Maeve." Snow had both hands on my shoulders, and was suppressing laughter as her fiancée continued to glare angrily at me. "No ulterior motives. No secret agendas. Nothing. I love him, and he loves me. That's enough."_

_I took a step back, studying the pair as James put an arm around Snow's waist and kissed her on the cheek. After a long moment of silence I nodded, mostly to myself. "Lady Scarlet approves." Snow rolled her eyes._

_"We didn't need your permission," James said, watching me distrustfully. I traced the hilt of my dagger indiscreetly. "Milady," he added hastily, and I smirked._

_"Right. Sure you didn't." Then I hugged Snow, and the princess was so astonished that at first she couldn't even hug me back. But she managed and pulled away, grinning hugely. "We have a new mission, my dear Maeve."_

_"And what's that? Avoid death before the wedding?" I asked sarcastically._

_Snow shook her head. "We're going to take back the kingdom."_

* * *

Mary Margaret and I were walking down main street when it happened.

The conversation hadn't picked up - meaning we walked in total silence - and the world was normal. Then something appeared and for a split second I thought I saw a flash of light go through the air, through everyone on the street. Then we had stopped walking, shivers crawling up my spine and my heart racing.

I glanced sideways at the woman standing a few feet away from me as a thousand images flashed through my mind: the contents of months, maybe years' worth of nightmares, and more. The dark-haired woman next to me looked back at me slowly, my own fear and shock mirrored in her big green-gray eyes.

"Frosty?" I asked quietly.

"Maeve?" she replied, just as quietly.

"Maeve!" Snow wrapped her arms around me, and I didn't push her away; I welcomed the embrace. The familiarity. "Frosty." I pulled away first, shudders still running through me. "Been a while."

She laughed, a bit hysterically, and said, "Yeah, I suppose it has been."

"Now, what do you say we go find your husband?" I said, grinning slyly.

It didn't take very long: Charming was clueless, Enchanted Forest or no Enchanted Forest. "Snow?" he was calling over and over again. Snow glanced at me happily, and I nodded in the direction of her one true love. "Go on, Frosty. It's been too long."

"Charming," she said, her voice hushed. "Charming!" She ran straight towards him and the two met in the middle of the road, the former prince and princess holding each other desperately. I bit back a grin as they embraced.

Then they kissed.

I knew those two, and was well aware of how long their uninterrupted kisses could last, so after the first ten seconds I decided to be the cruel bastard that ended it. I hurried over to the pair, who took no notice of my presence until I tapped Charming on the shoulder.

"What -?" He whirled around and stared down at me in astonishment. Then he laughed. "Maeve?"

I nodded once, attempting to hide my growing smile. "Charming."

Then he hugged me, which was the single most bizarre experience of my entire life. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to see you, Maeve Scarlet."

My grin finally escaped. "I think I might've missed you, too, Charming."

However, my smile vanished completely as I stared past the Charmings and at the sky beyond the town's streets, towards the forest. "Oh, my God."

Just beyond the town's streets was a vast purple-gray cloud of thick fog, swirling and rumbling and rapidly making its way towards the three of us. It swept over the town, engulfing everything in its path. Just looking at the thing made me worry.

"Maeve, do not touch the mysterious glowing cloud!" Snow said sharply from behind me as I reached out to touch the nearest tendril of mist. My fingertips brushed through it and I reeled back as a feeling like an electric current sparked up my fingers and through my hand. I knew that feeling, and finding it there was insane.

"Crap," I muttered, just as the cloud swallowed everything whole, a parody of the first curse. Then the world faded to nothing but purple-gray fog, those electric currents scurrying along every inch of my skin, setting fire to my nerves and heating my veins.

Magic. Magic had come to Storybrooke, Maine.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, my lovelies! :) So - holy crap! Season one finale chapter already? This is kind of insane. Apologies for the brief chapter, but I really wanted the breaking of the curse to shock Maeve, and didn't want her to be the exception to realising its existence or anything. **

**So, season one is officially over in this fic. That makes me both sad and excited, 'cause season two is going to be so much fun to write! :D I loved the idea of simply trapping fairy tale characters in a small town because there are endless opportunities for crazy adventures. ;) So yes, Maeve will probably remain in Storybrooke for all of season two - but that can be incredibly fun. Never a dull moment in Storybrooke, Maine, right? :) **

**The season one recap thing will be posted ASAP as I'm just adding finishing touches to it. Hope y'all enjoyed the finale chapter, and I will be getting season two started as quickly as I can. Although a slightly more pressing matter has arisen in this fandom: seven days! :D Seven days - exactly one week - until the premiere of season four! Oh my God, I've never been this excited in the history of ever (which is a lie, but whatever)! **

**Remember to follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Hope you guys liked this season's ending, and I hope to write at least half-decently for season two. :) Until next time, my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	22. Season One Extras & Recap! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or really anything about this story that isn't Maeve's character or Isadora's. Enjoy! ;D **

**Hello, friends! This is the chapter of the fic where I will recap the season's events (mostly through Maeve/Lindsey's perspective) and give you all a few drabbles/deleted scenes/alternate chapter segments. There will also be little notes and things scattered throughout this, and these will be written in bold (like my author's notes). These are just thoughts and footnotes concerning the fic that I wanted to share with you guys. :) Hope you all enjoy this little burst of insanity! **

* * *

Deleted Scenes & Extra Drabbles

(Lindsey's blind date with Ruby's friend - deleted)

I sat in Fair Grounds, a local coffee shop, across from a guy with the stupidest hair I'd ever seen.

His name was Damien and, as far as I was aware, his hair had always been stupid. He had one of those side-bang haircuts, but he'd slicked his bangs up with something that I suspected to be industrial-strength glue, considering it had been stuck like that since about eighth grade. His hair was spiked up all over but in such a way that there were individual spikes, all of them sticking upwards, making his entire head look like a startled octopus.

Damien was only a year older than me, and a friend of Ruby's; they'd been going to the same local club since forever ago. She'd finally worn me down and gotten me to agree to this blind date, and the moment I opened the front door I'd regretted it. Damien wasn't bad-looking or anything - he had those stereotypical popular-guy good looks with blue eyes and a deep tan - but it was the hair. It was so bizarre that it distracted from everything else.

"So . . . Ruby told me you work at the station?" He was being polite, asking questions about my work. I nodded absently, trying my hardest not to stare at his hair, and took a tentative sip of my tea.

"That must be fun. I mean, the manager is pretty cool." I nodded again, tapping my fingers on the side of my mug. "Yeah . . . so, what do you usually do there? I mean, Ruby mentioned you were an intern. What do interns do there?"

I perked up, welcoming the distraction from awkward silence while I avoiding looking at Damien's stupid hair. Also, a chance to blab about the station? I was definitely taking it. "Well, right now I'm working this thing from just outside town - my boss knows someone at the other station - and they sent us over pictures and all kinds of stuff. I have them on here actually -" I quickly pulled my phone from my bag, flipping through my photos and then holding it out for Damien to see. "Check it out."

Damien peered down at my phone screen. I'd pulled up the first folder of crime scene photos: a young woman, her body found in the park of a nearby town. The first few photos were just the corpse - beaten, throat slashed, one of her feet dismembered. "The police over there are figuring animal attack, but it doesn't look like a mauling. See those markings on her ankle? Those look too precise for an animal, like it wasn't clawed off but cut. Weird, right?"

I glanced up at Damien to see that he looked a bit green in the face. I tilted my head, baffled. "What's wrong?"

"I - I thought Ruby meant you worked at the _radio _station," he said, a bit breathlessly. "That is so messed up!" He pushed away from me a bit and I clicked off my phone, dropping it back in my bag with a light laugh.

"Ruby doesn't usually like freaking out future dates for me," I explained, smiling slightly as I took another sip of tea. "Sorry 'bout that."

But Damien was standing up, backing away. "You're insane, aren't you?"

I shook my head, annoyed. "I'm not insane!"

"You have pictures of dead bodies on your phone!" He exclaimed, and I could feel the eyes of everyone in the small coffee shop on me as I stood up, too, scowling.

"And you have stupid hair! There, I said it. It was hell trying to keep that in." I sighed, downing the rest of my tea. Damien was still staring at me in horror before he ran out of Fair Grounds, probably to avoid me for the rest of his life.

I glanced over at the young woman behind the counter, who shrugged sympathetically. I sighed, saying, "Darlin', another tea would be greatly appreciated."

"How about some advice?" she said, looking amused. "Murder cases are not first date material."

I nodded soberly, tapping my mug. "I think after twenty first-dates, I'm starting to get that."

* * *

**Hey, guys! :) So first I want to say that Fair Grounds is a real place - it's a coffee shop up the street from my house, and their whole premise is, like, naturally-grown and social-justice-approved coffee and tea. It's pretty cool. ;) So, I kind of stole their name (sorry!). Anyway, this is a deleted scene, which is basically a segment I wrote and considered using in the story, but decided to cut from that chapter. :) Hope you guys liked it! **

* * *

(Lindsey and Graham answering an intruder call - drabble)

"Be quiet!"

"This is my first damn case, Graham!"

"That has nothing to do with how bloody loud you're being!"

"Who's there?!" Both Graham and I glanced up, blinking as the lights in the room were suddenly flipped on. An older gentleman was standing there in a housecoat, and a woman cowered behind him in a starched nightgown. The man was holding a baseball bat aloft, as if prepared to strike anything that moved.

Graham immediately straightened his back, flashing his badge. "Sheriff Graham. We got a call that there was an intruder in this house."

The man stared at us both, baffled, before saying, "No, there isn't. And if you're Sheriff, who's that? Your assistant?"

I growled at the man, furious. "I am not his assistant! I'm the deputy!"

"In training," Graham finished, watching me in annoyance. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he raised an eyebrow in response. "What? That's what you are."

"Whatever." I turned back to face the older man, whose baseball bat hung at his side. "If there's no intruder here, then why did someone call us and tell us that?"

"This is 34 Ash Crescent, correct?" Graham asked, and I turned to him, confused. "Ash Crescent? It was on Delaney, Graham. 34 Delaney."

He paused, then said, "Damn it, we're in the wrong house!" He turned back to the older couple, who were just staring at us. "Sorry, folks, there's been a mild misunderstanding. We'll just be going now . . ."

"So, she's not your assistant?"

"No!" I exclaimed angrily. "I am not an assistant!"

"You look like one."

"Well, I'm not!"

"But you have a sidekick look about you," the gentleman said, and I resisted the urge to hit him. Sensing my fury, Graham grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house and back into the car, getting me into the passenger seat.

As he turned the key in the ignition, he said, "You know, you do seem sort of sidekick-y."

For that, I whacked him upside the head, glaring straight ahead of me. "I am _not_ the sidekick."

* * *

**Hi again. :) So, this is a drabble - basically a mini-one-shot that I wrote to give some of the relationships more depth. So, this is Lindsey and Graham. :) I absolutely loved writing this, since I adored Graham's character and miss him dearly :'(. But anyway, I wanted their relationship to be based on lots of funny anecdotes and stuff like that. Lindsey's an anecdote kind of girl, after all. Anyway, hope y'all liked this one. :)**

* * *

(Lindsey and Alaska fluff - drabble)

"Alaska?" Caroline and Ruby both stared at me, confused, as I announced my kitten's name.

"Yes," I said firmly, holding the baby cat in my lap. "Alaska - for Alaska Young." When Ruby looked even more confused, I added, "My favourite John Green character?" Then she nodded in understanding, my hour-long rants about the perfection of 'Looking For Alaska' finally catching up with my best friend.

"It's cute," Caroline said, sitting next to me on the bed. Ruby came and sat on my other side and I stroked the kitten's soft fur, rubbing her tiny back. She stretched and yawned, and an adoring 'awww' could be heard from everyone in the room.

"It's getting late," Ruby said, and stood up, She scratched Alaska behind the ears and whispered, "I'll come see her tomorrow, 'kay?" Then she disappeared downstairs, and I could hear the door close. Caroline drifted off a minute or two later to make some tea, and I curled up on my bed with Alaska draped across my stomach. I could feel her tiny heart beating, and I smiled softly, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

When I woke up to Alaska laying on my face, however, I wasn't exactly thrilled. "What the hell?" My curse was muffled by the kitten's fur; she was curled up in a little ball, her head resting on my forehead, and her tail swishing around my chin. I sighed and slowly, carefully, picked her up off of me and placed her on the blanket, where she proceeded to go back to sleep.

"Alaska." I said softly, smiling. That cat would wind up being one of my best friends.

* * *

**Hey guys! You're probably wondering 'why the hell did she write a drabble about her OC's cat?' Well, Alaska doesn't show up much in the fic, so I wanted her to have a quick and cute appearance. I wasn't sure what to write about for a cat, though, so I decided the generic 'how I got my pet' was an okay premise. ;) Fun fact: Alaska is the name of my future cat, also after my favourite John Green character. :) Hope the cat was cute and you all liked this one. ;)**

* * *

(Lindsey setting fire to the police station 'accidentally' - drabble)

I coughed, blinking against the heat. "What the hell did you do?!"

I squinted through the clouds of smoke and could just make out Graham's silhouette, walking towards me. His hand reached out through the haze and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along and out of the room.

"I don't know - I mean, I just kind of got carried away with some therapeutic document destruction, and -"

"Carried away with _what_?!" Graham looked dumbfounded as we made our way out of the station and into the cold night air.

"Therapeutic document destruction," I repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Anyway, I didn't realize how close the garbage can was to the curtains, and, well, things just sort of took off from there."

Graham stood there for a long moment, staring at me, before wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a brief and awkward hug. I pulled away, my eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What's up?"

He nodded in the direction of the building behind us, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the police station had actually caught fire. "Maybe it's salvageable." Just then the roof caved in with a massive crack, and flames erupted from the hole in the building.

"It can come out of my salary."

"Lindsey, you're an unpaid intern."

"Oh. Well . . . sorry about that."

* * *

**So, this one was super-fun to write because it was actually the backstory for something Lindsey and Graham referenced in chapter six! :D I thought it would be cool to write one of their anecdotes how it happened, so . . . here is the result of that idea. :) Hope it was alright. Fun fact: Lindsey was burning a newspaper article about her own arrest, which accused her of potential insanity. No wonder she despises Sidney Glass . . . ;)**

* * *

(Maeve and Belle encounter - fluffy friendship stuff! - deleted)

I was walking through the Dark Castle's hallways for the hundredth time, searching for Rumplestiltskin when I bumped into her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I just -" The girl froze mid-stoop, bending to pick up the trio of books she'd dropped. She was staring up at me with her startlingly blue eyes, petrified. I grinned.

"It's fine," I replied, shrugging, as she stood. "You're that girl, right? Belle?"

She nodded nervously and said, "And you're - you're Lady Scarlet." I nodded, although it hadn't been a question. Belle bit her lip, her eyes brimming with anxiety, and I resisted the urge to laugh at her expression.

"Dear God, it's alright," I said, grinning. "Honestly, I'm completely off-duty right now. Not on business at all. I'm just here to see Rumple."

Belle raised an eyebrow, although she still looked a bit nervous. "You're here to just see him? Catch up and everything?" She sounded fairly sceptical, and I understood why: when a mass murderer tells you something, typically you don't believe them.

"Not catch up exactly . . ." I admitted, shifting around where I stood. "He calls me over, and I come. I owe him . . . well, a lot." It pained me to say that, but it was the truth: I did owe Rumple, a hell of a lot more than I would've liked.

"Really?" Belle looked surprised. "He did something for you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a while back. He likes you, you know," I said conspiratorially, smirking. "He really does. He's never kept one of his girls this long. Usually he just -" Then I stopped myself from finishing that sentence, remembering that this girl was one of the good guys. Rumple never would've forgiven me if I'd told her what he used to do.

But she seemed to already know. "I know what he used to be like. But there's something in him . . . something good left." I suppressed a snort.

"Good luck finding his good side, darling," I said with a grin. "Try and stick around, though - he seems almost human around you. I can't deny that." I skipped off, leaving Belle standing there looking completely shell-shocked. Learning that the most evil man in the world is madly in love with you can do that to a person.

* * *

**This is a deleted scene, 'cause 'Skin Deep' was a really emotional episode, and I didn't want to mess that up with fluffy friendship stuff. So here is the fluffy friendship stuff that I cut! I love Belle (she's always been my favourite princess, and Emilie de Ravin was the perfect casting for her) so I really wanted to have her and Maeve interact. There will also be more Belle and Maeve stuff down the line (especially in season two) because Maeve and Ruby are friends, and Ruby pretty much adopts Belle, so . . . it's inevitable. :) Fun fact: Originally, I'd planned for Lindsey to meet Belle in the psych ward and for her to be convinced of the curse's legitimacy then. But, clearly, that didn't happen. :) **

* * *

Alternate Version(s)

*Chapter fourteen: Lindsey stays with Emma and David at hospital

"How functional could he be during one of these episodes?"

Emma, Dr Whale and I were standing in the hospital, David Nolan sitting on the edge of a table. I raised an eyebrow at the Sheriff's question. "He did talk to Mary Margaret."

Whale shrugged. "People in similar conditions do all sorts of things: cooking, talking, driving a car." I turned surprised eyes on the doctor: driving a car? He was practically throwing ideas for David's arrest at the Sheriff. Although I knew Emma would never arrest him unless absolutely necessary.

"You want to know if I could've made that call." It wasn't a question. "If I could've . . . what? Kidnapped her?" His voice lowered in horror. "Killed her?"

Emma shook her head. "No, no - but it could damn well prove your innocence! If you had one of these blackouts when you made the call, that would explain why you can't remember it, why you lied to me . . ."

"Stop talking David!" I whipped around to see Regina Mills striding into the room, her face a mask of annoyance.

"Why doesn't this man have a lawyer present? Have you even read him his rights?" Regina demanded, glaring at Emma and I. I shrugged, indifferent, while Emma tried for the diplomatic approach.

"No, because he's not under arrest. We're just talking."

"Right. _Just talking_," Regina echoed sarcastically, as if she didn't believe a word we said. I rolled my eyes in irritation. "Now you sound more paranoid than I do." She glared at me, and I simply glared back. I would be damned if I let Regina Mills scare me.

"Why are you even here?" I asked, not attempting to hide the frustration in my voice. I was sick beyond belief of Regina's bullcrap, and I wanted a situation where she wasn't messing around with everyone, pulling strings behind a curtain.

"I'm still his emergency contact," she said, smirking.

Emma scowled. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" So much for the diplomatic approach.

"Well, Kathryn's not available. Some people -" she glanced disdainfully at Emma and I "-haven't found her yet. Why don't you just stop trying to place blame and find her?" She glared at Emma, probably expecting some sort of apology for not having found her friend; instead, she received a challenging stare in return.

"There's a whole lot of Maine to search, Regina."

"Well, you covered this room. Why don't you branch out a bit?" she replied sarcastically, and I resisted the urge to smack her.

"Why don't you shut up? If you're so interested in Kathryn's safety, why don't you do something yourself? I thought, Miss Mills, that even you would do something for a friend and not yourself."

Regina directed her glare down at mine, then glanced over my torso. "In a bit of a mood lately, Miss Welles? I've been told you tend to eat your problems, but I don't think it's working all that well. I'd try another method soon, dear; you've gained quite a bit." She smirked, but that triumphant expression was instantly replaced with that of shock as I slapped her across the face so hard that someone outside the room peered inside worriedly.

She held a hand to her cheek, which was bright red, and I whispered, "I'd keep your thoughts to yourself from here on out, Madam Mayor. Because next time it could end a hell of a lot worse for you." And with that I stalked out of the room, Emma, David and Whale staring after me in astonishment.

* * *

**Bonjour my lovelies! :) This is an alternate version of a segment from chapter fourteen, in which Lindsey and Regina's relationship is described. Lindsey can't stand her, although Maeve understands Regina better than her curse self. So, this also occurred to me to write because Regina was just pissing me off during this episode. I love her as a character and sometimes even as a person, but I do not like her in this episode. So, using my power as the God of this AU, I had my OC slap her across the face, 'cause why not? ;) I know, logical, right? This is why people worry for my sanity . . . **

* * *

Playlist for Season One of 'We Are Broken'

1. Title Theme: 'We Are Broken' by Paramore

2. 'Lindsey': 'We're On Our Way' by Radical Face

3. Caroline/Isadora and Lindsey/Maeve's Theme: 'Beside You' by Marianas Trench

4. Lindsey's Nightmares: 'Bleed' by Evanescence

5. Lady Scarlet Fights: 'Roundtable Rival' by Lindsey Stirling

6. Graham's Death: 'Lullabies' by All Time Low

7. Song from the diner in chapter ten: 'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd

8. Lindsey's Valentine's Day Song: 'Eleanor Rigby' by the Beatles

9. Maeve's Backstory Theme: 'Ever After' by Marianas Trench

10. Maeve's Revenge on Simon: 'Howl' by Florence + the Machine

11. Maeve and Simon's Theme: 'Natural Disaster' by Pentatonix

12. Lindsey and Ruby's Theme: 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars

**So, I suppose I'll explain some of these song choices. First is the Paramore song, this fic's theme. I was listening to it (it's my all-time favourite by Paramore) and I really loved the premise of the lyrics. I thought they described this character I had in my head really well, and I sort of built the themes of this fic around that song. The whole story so far of Maeve is losing her innocence and trying to regain some kind of missing part of her. **

**Also, 'Beside You' by Marianas Trench is kind of Maeve and Izzy's relationship - in a non-romantic way. They are always there for each other, because they are all either one has left. Also, concerning 'Natural Disaster' and 'Howl' - I know that y'all don't know the gory details of Maeve and Simon's relationship, but you were introduced to it, and there will be more flashbacks with him in season two. ;) **

* * *

**And now, my ducklings, is when I give you all a sneak-peek into season two's plot of this fic! :) So, the curse has now been broken: there is a small town in Maine, brimming with fairy tale characters, and none of them can escape the town border. They're trapped.**

**Enter Maeve, the ex-assassin who's going insane, and her friends, the Charmings & Co. They understand her, but everyone else knows her as the now-powerless murderer of dozens of people, good and bad. So yeah, Maeve's kind of in some deep crap right now.**

**More of Maeve's past will be revealed: her relationship with Simon and her mother's identity being some of them. Her nightmares and hallucinations will continue, and pop up to be annoying and complicate life even further. However, she will finally be able to officially quit school, which is a perk of being far older than everyone thinks you are. ;) There will also be some crazy adventures within Storybrooke for our slightly crazed heroine and her friends, as well as a huge twist in her life - a really not-good twist, because I'm evil. ;D **

**Here are some quotes from season two's chapters so far:**

_"The iron chains around my wrists burned, but I barely noticed the pain as he gently ran a hand along my cheek, pressing his lips to my collarbone; his touch scalded me far worse than any magic."_

_" 'No, no, no, no.' I couldn't say much of anything else but that, negate the whole situation, wake up from the hideous nightmare I'd found myself in. I was shaking all over, unable to control myself, the world around me irrelevant as I stared down at her. 'No, please no, oh God, no.' Hands were wrapping around me, pulling me to my feet, and I wasn't even sure who was hugging me; I just shoved away from them and ran, ran until I could barely tell where I was or where I was even going."_

_" 'You know, Lindsey wasn't all that bad,' I remarked, flipping through my curse-self's arrest records. Snow frowned at me in confusion. 'I thought you were reading her file; do you know how many times she was arrested?' I raised an eyebrow at the former princess. 'That's what I meant, Frosty. At least I wasn't a goody-goody for thirty damn years.' "_

_"I notched another arrow, aimed and fired; it slammed into the ground, two feet to the right of my target. Angrily, I notched yet another arrow. 'I take back everything I said about Lindsey being alright,' I said in frustration as I missed the target for the sixth time. 'I'm completely out of shape, and I can't fire an arrow. My last defense is my fingernails, and I doubt they'll do too much damage with a bloody dragon!' "_

_"My eyes snapped open, the world around me spinning. I lurched to the side and retched into the grass, although nothing much came up. After a minute I struggled to my feet, fear pounding through my veins - then I froze, staring down at my chest. My heart. My heart was still beating, still able to send blood through my veins. Terror washed over me as I looked a few feet to my left and saw her, sprawled across the grass, pale and lifeless. I was about to be sick all over again."_

**Hope those quotes and all that got y'all excited for the season two part of this fic! :) I'm super-excited to write season two, as I adored the characters and premise of that season. Especially when one of the antagonists has an interesting connection to our quirky heroine. ;) Thanks for reading this segment, as I loved writing it and it was incredibly fun to create, and I hope you all enjoy the season two premiere chapter. Until next time, my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo**


	23. Broken

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its content (characters, plotlines, etc.) All of that belongs to Adam and Eddie. Please enjoy the beginning of season two! :)**

* * *

_"Tell the world that I'm coming home._

_Let the rain wash away, all the sins of yesterday._

_I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes."_

- Skylar Grey,_ Coming Home_

* * *

It was over, finished. The Dark curse, the curse to end all curses, had been broken. And I was standing in the aftermath.

As the purple-gray fog dissipated to nothingness, I glanced over at Snow and David, who were staring lovingly into each other's eyes again. I laughed softly before I heard the sound of clacking heels; I whirled around to see Red and her grandmother rushing over. Red wrapped me up in a hug, which I found a tad unusual, and even Granny gave me a small smile and a nod. I nodded back, aware that that was all I was getting from her.

"Snow!" "Red!" The two women embraced, and then Red hugged David, and then she was hugging me again, and soon the dwarves had appeared and everyone was hugging everyone and I couldn't turn around without somebody else pulling me into a baffling embrace.

"Can't breathe," I squeaked out as Snow hugged me for the third time. She laughed giddily and let go of me, turning to cry a bit with David while I massaged my throat and attempted to let air through my esophagus again.

"It's really broken," I muttered to myself; but Red had heard me and she grinned, nodding.

"Yeah, it is. We're free, Maeve." Then she was talking to her grandmother again and I was standing on the edge of the insane group-hug watching Emma Swan approach, Henry trailing behind her.

"Hey kid," I said quietly, giving Henry a brief wave; he waved back, smiling broadly.

"Now I find my daughter," Snow announced to the group, smiling almost as much as Henry. Emma coughed lightly behind the woman, as if giving her warning, before she said, "So it's true."

Snow and David whipped around to face their daughter. There was a long moment in which the three simply stared at each other, the Charmings fascinated with Emma, and Emma - well, she looked a bit shell-shocked. I suppose finding out that your missing parents are actually fairy tale characters can do that to any sensible person.

"Emma," Snow whispered, pulling her twenty-eight-year-old child into a tight hug. David soon joined in, although the blonde simply stood there between her parents looking incredibly uncomfortable. "You found us."

"Lots of crying going on today, isn't there?" I asked, and Snow simply nodded, smiling tearfully at me over her daughter's shoulder.

"Grandpa?" Henry asked innocently, and Snow started laughing almost as much as I was. David looked at his grandson and said, "Yeah, I s'pose so, kid." The moment felt almost perfect: Snow and Charming reunited with each other, their daughter, their grandchild. Everyone was happy, and almost everyone was crying.

As soon as the trio pulled apart, however, Snow's seven friends started asking questions.

"Why are we still here?"

"What was that smoke?"

"Who did this?"

"What was that smoke?"

"And why?"

"And _what _was that smoke?"

"It was fog, actually," I remarked nonchalantly, although I was still feeling the after-effects of the mysterious mist. I shivered, hoping no one would notice; but Snow caught my expression, as she so annoyingly often did.

"Maeve? What was it?" She paused, swallowing. "Was it bad?"

"Depends who you ask," I said with a humourless laugh. "As for what it was: magic."

"Magic?" Grumpy asked, sounding confused. I turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, _magic_ - pure magic. You know, essence-y stuff."

"Essence-y stuff?" one of the other ones echoed, and I sighed melodramatically. "Yes, essence-y stuff. It was pure magic, and now it is everywhere - downright unsanitary, in fact." I could still feel the magic as it brushed over me, something I hadn't felt in over thirty years: the shudders that ran through my bones, the sudden power inside me, as if my veins had been replaced with live electric currents. I could even see it if I focused enough: tiny particles, like luminescent dust, floating through the air.

"The halfling is correct." I glanced over my shoulder in disgust, although I already knew who was standing there: the Blue Fairy. She hugged Snow and tossed me a superior glance before opening her mouth to continue.

I, however, was having none of it. "I liked you much better as a nun," I remarked, cutting her off. "You talked a lot less, and the outfit suits you far better than the crap from our realm."

Blue turned to watch me angrily. "And being a useless town miscreant suited you, Lady Scarlet." I scoffed in derision.

"That's the best insult you've got? You had three decades to come up with something, Blue - at least try to offend me." Blue's cheeks reddened as she grew more furious, and I smirked; this was more like the Blue I had known.

"Both of you, stop it." That was Snow. Blue closed her mouth immediately, although I had half a mind to say something else. Seeing my rising anger, Red placed a hand over my mouth as Henry piped up.

"Magic is in Storybrooke?" he asked curiously. Blue nodded sagely, and I resisted the urge to smack her. "You're the Blue Fairy - do something magical!"

"It's not that simple, Henry," she said, smiling sadly. "No wand, no fairy dust . . . matters are complicated now."

I snorted. "Yeah, because some of us need the sorcerer's equivalent of training wheels to do anything remotely mystical." Blue shot me a glare, which I returned with a mockingly sweet smile.

"Maeve," Snow said warningly, and I reluctantly backed off as Grumpy began speaking again. "Let's go to the person responsible for all of this," he said, and I nodded once in agreement; seemed like a decent plan. "The Evil Queen." Okay, not-so-decent plan anymore.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, baffled, as the others began their murmurs of agreement with Grumpy's idea. "Hold up, people - how do we even know it was Regina?"

"It wasn't," Emma said, shaking her head. "It was Gold." She began striding down the street and, after a moment of confused hesitation, the rest of our little group trailed after her, the Charmings running to catch up with their daughter.

I hurried after the trio and walked beside Henry, who looked a bit wary of me; I simply ignored his fearful glances, knowing that Snow and David would sort that out soon enough. I heard Snow saying, "Us, your life, everything?"

"Maybe another time, with a glass of wine," Emma suggested, keeping her pace quick. "Or several bottles."

Deciding that perhaps eavesdropping on Snow White and Prince Charming's personal affairs would lead to one hell of an argument, I switched from listening to looking: watching the particles of magical essence float through the air, the fluffy clouds drift serenely overhead, and the angry mob that was marching through the streets, screaming for blood.

"Uh, guys?" I asked, gesturing to the unusual sight. Emma and her parents had come to a screeching halt and were now peering at the crowd of yelling people, Dr Whale at the front of the mass. Suddenly, Archie Hopper was sprinting towards us, looking incredibly worried.

"It's Whale, he's whipped everyone into a frenzy!" I sighed in annoyance: leave it to the idiotic letch to start a riot after the damn curse was broken. "They're headed to Regina's house - they're going to kill her!"

"Great, let's watch," Grumpy said, and I shrugged. "Could be fun - depends if they're using fire or knives." Henry backed away from me in utter horror, and I rolled my eyes at the astonished looks I was receiving from the whole group. "God, I was kidding!"

"They can't kill her!" Henry said, looking terrified. "She's still my mom!" I thought I saw Emma look a bit taken aback by that statement - I was as well - but then she nodded. "Kid's right."

"If magic is here, Regina could have her powers back," Charming said as we all stared after the mob. "They could be marching into a slaughter."

I began marching down the street after the crowd, annoyance the only thing I felt aside from the magic. "Come on, then, Team Charming!" I called back at the group as they stared at me, shocked. "Don't we have an evil witch to rescue?!"

* * *

When we arrived at the mayor's grand manor house, Whale's angry mob was screaming insults at a closed door. I rolled my eyes and strode confidently through the crowd, carelessly pushing people aside to reach the front steps just as Regina came outside.

"You want your Queen?" she asked menacingly, in a voice not that different from my own when I tried to pull off my Lady Scarlet routine. "Well here she is." But when she waved her hands and the mob ducked fearfully - nothing happened.

Whale, who stood before Regina, laughed. "She's powerless!" he announced to the crowd, who all yelled their relief. "You've taken everything from us - we're here to take some things back." He shoved her roughly up against one of the pillars on her front steps and moved to wrap his hands around her throat just as I coughed politely behind him.

Whale didn't move, so I coughed again - one of those little 'ahem' coughs that people make when they're trying not to sound like an interrupting ass. In fact I was reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge - which worried me - and this time Whale turned around. "Who are you supposed to be?" he demanded.

I took a step closer to him. "Oh, no one special - you may have heard of Lady Scarlet?" And with that I punched him square in the face. Whale backed up a few feet, holding a hand to his nose, which I was pretty sure I'd broken - as well as my hand. I clutched it in pain and winced. I may have known how to hit someone expertly, but Lindsey hadn't done much in the way of proper punching in thirty years. I was out of practice.

"What the hell?!" Whale yelled, his eyes watering as blood trickled from his nose.

"Don't hurt her!" Emma and the Charmings were pushing through the crowd now, hurrying towards the front steps of the house. The blonde stood between Whale and Regina, while David moved between the doctor and me. Snow took a worried look at my hand, which was beginning to swell, before she took a stance on the front steps.

"It's a good thing we decided to rescue her instead of watch: turns out it wasn't fire or knives," I remarked offhandedly, glaring at Whale. "Boring death, really. What were you planning to do, Whale? Strangle her with your bare hands?" I laughed derisively, and Whale glared back at me.

"Killing Regina will not provide any answers!" Snow announced from the top step of the Queen's porch. "Whatever she's done or who she is, it does not justify this!" The princess took a moment to study her stepmother. "She . . . needs to be locked up."

I sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but murder might not be the best course of action here."

Suddenly, one of the crowd members pushed forwards to point at me. "This here is Lady Scarlet - you may remember how many people she's killed?" There were mutters of dissent among the crowd. The man who had spoken glared hatefully at me. "She's powerless here - she couldn't even hit Whale without hurting herself!" When no one said anything he continued. "Why don't we deal with the real murderer now, while we can still fight back?"

The mob began to turn to me, stepping ever closer. Snow was yelling for everyone to move back and Charming was busy with Whale. I shared a quick, worried glance with Red as I began to back away from the angry crowd. "Red - you know how about a week ago I was joking about being murdered by furious townsfolk?"

Red nodded, her eyes fearful. I sighed. "Public staking might currently be in the cards." Then the man who had started the frenzy grabbed me by my hair, forcing my back against the wall of Regina's house. "You've done too many people too much harm," he hissed, his breath hot on my cheek; I squirmed away, but he shoved me back up against the wall, pain lancing through the back of my skull. "You've finally gotten what's coming to you."

"Leave her!" Red yelled, shoving him away. I tried to ignore the steady pain in my hand as I ran with her, out of Regina's front yard, down the street, all the way to the one place I knew for certain I would be safe.

* * *

"That was insanity."

I was sitting on the Sheriff's desk in the station, Snow examining my hand while she lamented the situation. Regina was sulking in a cell in the corner, while Emma, David and Henry talked quietly to the former queen - I had gotten Red to go to her grandmother, where she would be safe.

"Tell me about it," I said, trying to contain my fury and pain as Snow slowly turned my hand over: it was swollen and bright red. "This doesn't look very good," I observed, and the princess laughed softly. "No, it really doesn't."

She sighed, standing up straight. "You'll have to fix it -"

"Magic," I said immediately, and Snow pressed her lips together in obvious frustration.

"Snow," I continued, speaking slowly and clearly. "I just screwed up my hand by punching someone in the face, and going to the hospital would make it far worse because a) I was punching Whale in the face, b) I'm pretty sure he's this town's only doctor, and c) if you hadn't forgotten already, everyone in this town wants my head mounted on their wall." Snow wrinkled her nose at the vivid image.

"Fine," she relented. "Magic it is. Just - be careful, Maeve."

I winked. "Aren't I always careful, Frosty?" Snow sighed as she turned back to her family, muttering, "I'm regretting this already."

"She says that our land is gone," David whispered, looking saddened. I felt a small pang in my chest myself: I may have experienced some terrible things back home, but it was still back home. For it to be gone, erased forever . . .

"She's lying," Snow replied quietly, shaking her head. "The curse hit us, not the Enchanted Forest. It's still there - it has to be." I could hear the need in her voice and for a moment my sadness morphed to sympathy: Snow had lost everything. She needed her home more than anything else.

"Anyhow, we should get going," David said, and turned to me. "And you should find a place to hide." My eyebrows knit together in confusion; what the hell was he talking about?

At my look of bafflement, David elaborated. "As we saw earlier, most of the town's residents don't - well, they don't trust you like we do. People will want to do some pretty bad things, and current circumstances considered, you probably shouldn't go back to your - I mean, Lindsey's place."

"Go into hiding?" I asked, annoyed. "Forget it, Charming. I can handle myself and Izzy - she called earlier, said she was waiting at the house for me. And, in case it's slipped your mind, David Charming: I am Lady freaking Scarlet. Due to things such as dignity and self-respect, I will not be holing up in some dusty basement cellar for the next two months." I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, and David shut up, knowing that it was useless to argue with me.

"It's your decision," he said, phrasing his words carefully after a minute as we walked out of the station. "But just remember to keep your defences up for the moment, be cautious. Don't be so -"

"So me?" I finished, smirking at his flustered expression. "Izzy and I will be fine. Speaking of which," I added as we turned the corner and onto our street. "I believe my last living family member is expecting me."

* * *

I knocked on the front door, chewing the inside of my lip. I wasn't even close to being ready to see Isadora after thirty years - I wasn't sure I could even walk through the door if she opened it. And the moment a curvy woman with reddish-brown hair appeared in the doorway, her big blue eyes brimming with worry, I felt all of my words leave me.

Isadora stood there for a long moment as we both simply stared at each other, one of us grasping for words and the other holding them back. I laughed quietly. "Hi, Izzy."

My aunt wrapped her arms around me in the tightest hug I'd received all day, although this was one I wouldn't pull away from.

Isadora and I spent the remainder of the day hiding in the kitchen with the door and windows locked and the shades pulled down. For hours we simply talked over cups of scalding hot tea and a plate of my aunt's horribly burnt sugar cookies that I hadn't tasted in three decades. It felt bizarrely like home.

However, around seven that night, a massive shudder that ran through the ground sent our cozy afternoon screeching to a halt. The mugs of tea slipped off the table, shattering on the floor, and the air seemed to shake, as if Storybrooke had just been hit with a sonic boom. Isadora tumbled from her seat onto the floor, but I managed to keep my balance.

"What was that?" Izzy asked as she scrambled to her feet. I shook my head, holding a finger to my lips before I began creeping towards the front door. I peeked out the window and saw electrical sparks and heard people screaming and running. After a second I turned back to Isadora, who was watching me worriedly.

"Stay here," I said, nodding back to the kitchen. "Make sure the windows and door are all locked after I leave, and find as weapon or something." I picked up a pair of kitchen knives, wishing I'd accompanied the Charmings to retrieve my proper weapons from Gold's shop. I nodded at Isadora, who did not look happy with this plan, before I slipped out the door and quickly shut it behind me.

I'd stepped into complete and total chaos. Power lines were hanging from their poles, electricity sparking from their ends and threatening to set fire to the nearby trees; wind howled and sent stray newspapers and litter tumbling through the air, bending the trees almost sideways with its force; everyone was sprinting for the closest shelter, and I had to take a deep breath and steel my nerves to keep from running back to Isadora. I glanced back at the brownstone, but shook my head: I'd placed a protection spell over the house earlier. It was primitive, but it was enough to keep out any average townsfolk.

I hurried down the street, unsure of where I was going, just searching for the source of the insanity. And then I found it: a shadowed black specter, hovering in mid-air outside the sheriff's station. I froze dead in my tracks, fear pumping through my every cell. Gleaming, bloodred eyes stared at me curiously as the specter tilted its head, examining me from head to toe. Then it turned away and flew into the station. Shaking away my terror, I followed.

"Maeve, don't -!" Someone was yelling behind me just as I burst into the station to see the specter looming over Regina Mills, who was standing stock-still in her cell with a mask of pure horror plastered across her face.

The specter held out a hand and the winds began moving from Regina towards the creature. Then, as if the shift in wind patterns wasn't odd enough, an eerie silver light began drifting from Regina and into the specter. It looked as though particles of quicksilver were seeping from her every pore, pouring from her eyes and nose and mouth and into the cold, wind-whipped air.

"No!" I shouted, rushing over towards the pair. "Wait, stop!" The specter turned towards me, its red eyes blazing with something akin to fury as it thrust out a weathered, glistening hand; I was tossed backwards into a desk and tumbled to the floor, groaning in pain and annoyance.

"Not fair," I hissed as I stumbled to my feet, still holding one of the kitchen knives. As I sprang forwards, however, the specter tossed me aside once again, this time into the wall. Good to know it appreciated variety, at least.

"Maeve! Regina!" Snow, Emma and David burst into the station, all wielding far better weapons than my stupid kitchen knives. Although I felt less useless when David was immediately knocked aside by the creature. Emma was also soon taken out, although Snow managed to get close enough to the specter. However, the silver light was still being sucked out of Regina, and she seemed to be growing weaker, her legs failing her as she slid to the floor of the cell. It was almost as if the thing were stealing her energy, or her life, or her . . . and, suddenly, I knew what we were facing.

"Crap," I muttered, searching my pockets. "Crap crap crap shit crap damn it crap." I yanked one of the desk drawers open, spilling its contents onto the floor. There, among the useless papers and pens and sticks of gum, sat my shining saviour, something that Graham had taken from me a while before.

I snatched it up and yelled, "Snow!" Then I chucked the silver lighter towards the former princess and a can of air freshener soon followed it. The woman managed to clumsily catch both objects and held the lighter up in front of the air freshener canister before clicking both of them. A stream of bright flames shot towards the specter, which turned and vanished, shrieking into the distance while flapping its arms and just generally reminding me of some giant, psychotic, kamikaze bat.

"Thank you," Snow said, half-smiling at me; but I was focused on the shattered window that the creature had disappeared through.

"What was that thing?" Emma demanded, looking understandably shaken.

"A wraith," I said lowly, still carefully watching the broken window.

"A what?" the blonde said, looking baffled. I repeated myself. "You know, soul-sucker."

"Like, a dementor?" she said slowly, and I nodded. "Yeah, pretty much exactly like that. Where do you think JK got the idea?"

"But it isn't dead." Regina had pulled herself to her feet and was panting, leaning wearily against the bars of her cell. "You didn't kill it - it's just regenerating." I sighed heavily. "Of course we couldn't have killed the terrifying monster on the first try. Where would be the fun in that?" I muttered.

"It'll be back," Regina continued, ignoring my comment. "It's looking for the person with the mark which, thanks to Rumple, I now possess." She turned her palm outwards to us and I peered closely at the swollen purple marking on her hand.

"That is disgusting," I said with relish, and Regina pulled her hand back from my view, looking annoyed. "We have to kill it," Snow said.

"Not that simple, sweetie," I explained. "I've dealt with these things before. Wraiths are - well, they're already dead. And you can't kill a corpse, Frosty. It's impossible."

"Then how are we supposed to kill it?"

* * *

An hour later, after two brief arguments with Snow and David, I was standing in Regina's office with the Charming family and the former queen. Snow had spent the past hour trying to convince me to go back to Isadora, to keep her safe from the wraith. I'd argued that it was searching for Regina, not Izzy. After the first fifteen minutes, David had given up trying.

Regina set a timeworn top-hat onto the floor in the center of the room, and I felt a surge of anger as I realised whose hat it was. "I see you've even managed to take that from him," I remarked bitterly, nodding towards the top-hat. Regina glared at me, remaining silent.

Suddenly the closed doors of Regina's office shook violently, the lights flickering off one by one. Snow and David exchanged a concerned glance and Emma looked back to the doors every few seconds, waiting for the wraith to appear.

And appear it did, with a dramatic style that I could almost appreciate, if I hadn't been about to have my soul sucked out of my face. The doors were blasted apart, falling completely off of their hinges and to the floor; raging winds flew through the room as the dreaded creature loomed over us, its red eyes glowing menacingly.

"And here I thought I was the only one here who valued a good entrance," I remarked offhandedly, looking up at the wraith, which stared back down at me. Then it moved to fly over me and towards Regina; to which I held up a broomstick Charming had handed me, its end set ablaze. The fire stung the creature, although I doubted that it injured it.

"How's it coming?" I yelled over the strong winds; Regina yelled back something that sounded like a 'we need more time', which ticked me off. It was her life we were saving, after all: she could at least get the damn magic hat to work properly.

Snow and David quickly set fire to a railing that cut through the middle of the room, cutting the wraith off from its victim. The wraith didn't seem to like this development, however, and expressed its intense fury by throwing me into the wall.

"Maeve!" David yelled. I crumpled to the ground, muttering a string of curses as pain shot through my entire body. My hand still hurt like hell from earlier, and now - according to my own personal estimation - I'd also managed to break at least every bone in my anatomy.

"I wasn't even the one who lit the damn fire," I hissed through clenched teeth, attempting to ignore the waves of agony that washed over me. Unfortunately, ignoring it didn't seem to be much of an option.

Through narrowed eyes I watched as a swirling purple-black portal opened up from Jefferson's top-hat. The wraith was shoved inside, and Emma tumbled in after it, quickly followed by Snow. At first I wasn't entirely sure what I was seeing, as if maybe I'd imagined it. But no, as I struggled to my feet and walked over to the section of floor where I had seen the portal appear over, I watched David get up from his position on the linoleum tiles.

Regina, Charming and I all gaped at the spot where Snow White and Emma Swan had vanished.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, ducklings! :) OUAT returns in five days, which has me super-excited, and is also the reason that this chapter was finished so quickly. The updates may not come as fast at the moment considering I have all of my worst subjects this semester, and I'm pretty sure that I'm failing math (which is, y'know, not good). **

**Anyway, I am so excited to share this one with you guys! I hope y'all like the Maeve and Izzy moments because there are going to be a lot more of them soon. Also, you read that right: my OC will not be going with Snow and Emma into the EF. Most of the OC fics I've read involve the OC following the characters everywhere, but I really wanted Maeve to remain in Storybrooke. I want her to have her own little story, if that makes any sense. So . . . yeah. Storybrooke! Yay! :D**

**A huge thank you to Summer Jackson (your reviews make me so incredibly happy, thank you so freaking much), and to Amandla123 and 'Oh my Batman is that Spitfire' and Just2aw3s0me for following. All the support with this story means the world to me, so thank you. ;)**

**Next chapter we'll get to see more of Maeve's relationship with David, and even a bit of Belle and Ruby. :) Lots of fluffy friendship stuff next update - you have been warned! :) Thanks again for reading, and remember to favourite if you liked this, follow if you want to read more, and review if you have anything to say. Reviews are greatly appreciated so please let me know what you think of this story. :) Farewell, ducklings!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	24. In Hiding

**Miraculous miracle time ! :D I got into my computer just long enough to post this chapter, meaning that y'all haven't gotten rid of me for now. ;) Can't say when I'll be able to post next, so enjoy this update and have a happy OUAT premier! :D Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of this except Maeve and Isadora - the rest (like, 95% of this) belongs to Adam and Eddie. Enjoy the update! :)**

* * *

"Today, gentlemen, we must investigate the line."

I sighed, blowing a few strands of strawberry-blonde hair from my face as I watched the troupe of dwarves standing before the town's border on the highway, which Grumpy had outlined in neon orange spray paint.

A few hours previously - and greatly against Isadora's wishes - I had left the brownstone where I was hiding out to do something. The wraith had left the town in shambles, and the entire population was panicking; staying cooped up inside all the time was driving me insane. Bounty or no bounty on my head, I needed to do something, _anything_, even a bit productive.

So, when David had insisted that the seven dwarves 'keep an eye on me', I had more or less ruptured an eye yelling at the prince. I then, of course, had consented to stay with the dwarves, considering that my only other option was being carried, potentially unconscious, back to a pissed-as-hell Isadora.

"This is so pointless," I said in frustration, shifting my legs a bit; I was sitting on the hood of Sneezy's old black Chevrolet, my combat boots propped up on the edge, my back leaning against the warm glass of the windshield.

Grumpy glared at me. "Then what d'you suggest we do, princess?" I shrugged indifferently, crossing my ankles as I peered at the cluster of men. "Doesn't matter, does it? A bunch of dwarves and fairies and a freaking _werewolf_ can't exactly leave this place, can they? This is the only safe spot anywhere."

"Whatever," Grumpy muttered, a bit disheartened. I shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do?' sort of way and returned to my tenth game of angry birds in the past eight minutes. God, I was bored. I could've been off practicing with my recently re-acquired weaponry. Or even better, teaching myself to not punch like a total idiot. Having fractured my hand after trying to hit Whale in the face the other day, I'd determined that I was seriously out of practice.

The dwarves were now drawing straws to see who was going to attempt to cross the town line; Sneezy, being the unlucky bastard that he was, drew the short straw. He glanced back at me fearfully as I called out, "See you on the other side, darlin'! Don't forget to send us a postcard from the afterlife!" Doc and Grumpy both glared back at me.

"Maybe she's right," Sneezy said nervously, standing mere inches from the orange line. "What if we just find a turtle and sort of nudge it over -"

"Oh, just go!" Grumpy shoved his brother over the line and for a moment, everything seemed alright. Then a faint blue light surrounded Sneezy, crackling with an energy that I was all too familiar with: magic. He froze in his tracks, every muscle in his body seeming to stiffen; then he began to shake all over.

"Sneezy?" Grumpy called. "Sneezy!" But it was far too late.

Suddenly, the dwarf was tossed back onto the road, on our side of the border, landing on his back. He was quiet as he carefully stood, brushing himself off. Then he looked directly at his six brethren and said, "Who's Sneezy?" He glanced around, looking baffled, and sneezed. "Where am I? Who the hell are you?"

My eyebrows flicked up in surprise and mild curiosity. "Maybe a turtle would've been a good idea."

* * *

_The stone floor of the cavern was cold against my bare feet, and I slipped and slid along the wet stretch of rock, clutching the flaming torch in my hand desperately._

_"Hello, dearie."_

_I let out a shriek of surprise and whirled around, nearly slipping in the process. Peering into the shadows, I could just make out the silhouette of a tall, thin man leaning against the wall. I held the torch higher, but it only brought his oddly fancy clothes into visibility._

_"Allow me," he said in a rasping voice. He snapped his fingers, a sound that echoed throughout the cavern, and suddenly the entire tunnel was flooded with warm light that glowed from a series of miraculously lit torches that burned in brackets along both walls. I blew my own torch out and set it on the ground. _

_"Who're you?" I asked, my voice hesitant and fearful. I hated that, but there was no reclaiming the words after they had left my lips. The man before me smirked and took a step forwards, looking amused. _

_"Excuse my manners, dear lady," he said mockingly, and have a sweeping bow. "I am Rumplestiltskin." I stifled a gasp, and the man's smirk grew. "I see my reputation precedes me."_

_I nodded quietly, still staring at the sorcerer: his skin was a strange greenish-brown and glistened, like scales. His eyes were wide and a solid, murky brown. I half-expected the reptilian man's tongue to be forked._

_"I'm Maeve," I said, forcing my voice to be louder; the effort was in vain. "Maeve Scarlet." I shifted a bit as he studied me, circling me the way a predator might stalk its newest prey. I quickly adjusted my starched skirt, which flowed out over my knees, and combed the ends of my two braids with my fingers, laying them out over my collarbones. Rumplestiltskin seemed incredibly amused by my attempts to fix my appearance._

_"My, my, don't we have our mother's looks?" he asked slyly, and I bit the inside of my lip to keep from snapping back a retort. I needed to remember that this man - this creature - could squash me in an instant if he wanted to. _

_"I suppose so," I responded, my voice a frightened whisper by that point. "But not the hair." I held up one my strawberry-blonde braids as evidence, and Rumplestiltskin seemed to stifle a laugh. _

_"No, not your hair . . . but your mother's eyes." He leaned in a bit closer, examining me. It took all of my willpower not to flinch away. "Such beautiful green eyes." That was when I moved away from him, scurrying back until I hit the cavern wall. Rumplestiltskin was still standing where he had been, and was still watching me._

_"Why have you come here, Maeve Scarlet?" he asked, abruptly straightening his back and looking down at me as if I were a mere child. "Have you a deal to make with the Dark One, dearie, or will you be leaving now?"_

_I sucked in a deep breath, knowing that my voice could fail me. Then I folded my arms across my chest and said in as loud a tone as I could manage, "I'm here to make a deal. But my name is not 'dearie', Rumplestiltskin. It is Maeve Scarlet."_

_He nodded thoughtfully. "Alright - _Lady_ Scarlet. Far better name, is it not? Now, what deal have you come to make with me, Lady Scarlet?" A gleeful light entered his eyes and encouraged me to back up some more; I did not, out of both ignorance and stubbornness. _

_"I want my mother back."_

* * *

"You really shouldn't go out in public like that," Red remarked, handing me a cup of tea from the diner. I shrugged indifferently, taking a long sip that scalded my throat and sighed happily: perfection.

"People are going to figure out where I am eventually," I said, not really caring. I hadn't been prepared with Whale; now I could be. "Anyway, I was thinking of heading out to the woods to practice." I nodded meaningfully in the direction of my weaponry, which sat on the Charmings' dining table. Red sighed and headed out, back to the diner.

"She's right, Maeve." David was standing in front of the mirror, reciting his speech. I rolled my eyes dismissively. "Whatever. It wasn't even that big a deal." Although it kind of was: I had arrived in the town square along with the dwarves to present the town border issue to David and the others. However, Lady Scarlet turning up in the middle of a panicked crowd of townspeople had resulted in me and Red having to run and take cover as someone else suggested my public execution. Being the second time in about three days that somebody had had that idea, I was mildly worried about the decreasing moral values of the population.

"People of Storybrooke," David began for the tenth time. "I know things look bleak, but . . . they - aren't." The former prince ran a hand through his short blond hair, clearly frustrated. "That one was awful."

I nodded in agreement. "Even I can't argue with that."

"No, you were onto something!" Henry said, giving me an annoyed look; I opted to ignore the kid and resumed flipping through Isadora's series of texts, which were abundant and increasingly pissed off. Generally they demanded that I get back to the house, but I wasn't too keen on that and wasn't sure how to say that without ticking my aunt off further, so I simply clicked the phone off.

"It's the Mad Hatter's hat!" Henry exclaimed from the kitchen. I glanced up in confusion as the kid flipped through his storybook again, showing one of the pages to his grandfather. David stared down at the picture, and then at the battered top-hat in his hands.

"Yeah, that's Jefferson's hat," I said, standing up from the couch and walking over to the pair; David was clutching the hat like a lifeline. It had created the portal into which the deadly wraith, Emma and Snow had fallen.

"Jefferson?" Henry asked in bewilderment. I nodded. "Yeah, the hatter. I, uh -" I paused, not certain how to explain my relationship with the realm-traveler. "We knew each other, a long time ago. I haven't seen him in Storybrooke, though - last I heard, he was stuck in Wonderland."

David looked as though he hadn't even heard my last sentence. "Jefferson - the Mad Hatter. Got it." He was already shrugging on his jacket and striding purposefully towards the apartment door. I chased after him, frustrated.

"What am I supposed to do while you're off looking for him?" I demanded.

David glanced past me to Henry. "Henry, I need you to keep an eye on Maeve, alright?" Henry said nothing, although I was certain the prospect of being alone with me was less than appealing to the kid. "I'll be back soon."

"David!" I said furiously, storming after the prince. "Charming, get back here!" But he was already gone, dashing down the stairs after his new lead.

I turned around to see Henry Mills watching me warily from the apartment door; then I looked past him and to the weapons spread out across the table. Walking right past the kid again, I picked up my sheathed daggers and tucked them in the waistband of my jeans. Then I snatched up the rest of my more deadly belongings and headed out the door, calling behind me, "You coming, kid?"

* * *

"This is a bad idea." Henry and I were standing in the woods, my weaponry on the ground; I was examining my sword, which did not appear damaged from the curse. Whirling the blade around in my hand, I suddenly held it out at arm's length, a foot from Henry's head. He swallowed nervously.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not here to kill you, kid. Calm yourself, alright? I'm just out of practice, which is something I can't afford to be when half the town wants me dead."

"But David said -"

"I don't care what Prince Charming said to do," I replied without moving my gaze from the steel blade in my hands; I swung it back around, striking the nearest tree and stripping away a chunk of bark. "I don't take orders from him, and neither should you."

"But he's -"

"Family, I get it." With a heavy sigh, I sheathed the sword and turned to look back at Henry, who was watching my blade in fascination. I smirked a bit and offered the weapon to him. "You want to try?"

He immediately shook his head and I internally cursed Regina for completely sheltering the poor kid - he needed to live a little. Unsheathing the sword once again, I held the hilt out to him, my fingers wrapped carefully around its gleaming edge. "Go on, try it. I swear it's fun." Gingerly, as if picking up lit explosives, Henry took the sword.

"Now swing it at the tree," I suggested, and he swung it at the tree; it hit the bark with a soft thud, and then was still. "Now pull it out of the tree." Henry tugged the blade loose from the tree trunk. "Now swing it again." He swung it again; it stuck again. "Oh, my God, Henry - did no one seriously show you how to wield a freaking weapon?" The kid shook his head 'no'.

"Damn," I muttered, taking the sword from him. "First you need to plant your feet correctly." I showed him, and he copied me. "Then you raise the blade like this." He raised an imaginary blade into the air as I was doing. "Now you just sort of swing it." I swung the sword, and it flew from my grasp and landed ten feet away, sticking up out of the dirt.

"Maybe less swords for the moment," Henry said, his voice petrified. I nodded, aghast; if I couldn't use a sword, what the hell was I also missing?

That question was answered about twenty minutes later, when I figured out how out of shape I had become and how terrible I was with my once-familiar weaponry. The daggers became useless, blunt objects that I couldn't hit an elephant with; the sword was as unsuccessful an attempt as before; the bow and arrow were pointless with my not-so-fantastic aim.

"This is insanity!" I declared, throwing down the bow angrily. "Over forty years using these things, and one measly little curse sends all of that practice to hell!"

Henry looked taken aback. "Forty years?" he said, bewildered; I waved a hand dismissively. "No time to get into it now, kid. Just know that it's been a freaking long time, alright?" He nodded, still mystified by the new revelation.

"Maybe we should get back," Henry said, carefully picking up my bow and quiver. After a long moment of indecision, I snatched up my sword and daggers and consented to heading back to the apartment. "I have to be at David's meeting anyway," Henry added.

"So do I," I agreed, and Henry winced. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the kid. "I have to go."

"About that . . ." he said, looking as if he would have rather said nothing at all. "I mean, David said that it might not be the best idea, and Ruby agreed, so maybe you -"

"Kid, I have to go. Everyone will be there!" I argued.

"Yeah, that's the point," Henry replied. "Everyone who also wants you, y'know, dead, and all that." He trailed off awkwardly and I crossed my arms defiantly.

"It's not as if you can lock me up."

* * *

_"Your mother?" Rumplestiltskin laughed, and my face fell; I thought he might at least consider my deal. "Delphine? Bring her back?" He laughed again, and I felt a tear trace down my cheek. Wiping it away in frustration, I folded my arms across my chest._

_"It's not funny!" I yelled. "She's dead, and it is everything but funny!"_

_Rumplestiltskin seemed genuinely shocked at my yelling - as was I. Standing there for a minute, I was certain he would kill me then and there. But the sorcerer began nodding thoughtfully, studying me again. _

_"Bring Delphine back," he muttered, as if to himself. "From the dead?" He shook his head, saying "Impossible." I took a deep breath, prepared to flee the cavern in disappointment, when he continued. "But perhaps . . ."_

_"Can it be done?" I asked, my voice suddenly quiet. This was what I had travelled so far to find out; what I had stowed away on a merchant ship for, what I had snuck into a royal carriage for, what I had run away and stolen and risked everything for. _

_Rumplestiltskin looked at me for a long moment. At last he said, "Perhaps. But I will need something in return, child." I quickly dug into my satchel and pulled out a small bag of gold coins, which I had nicked from the aforementioned royal carriage I had stowed away on. _

_But the sorcerer was already shaking his head as I displayed the object of my thievery. "No, not gold - I make gold, Lady Scarlet." He winked again, and I swallowed nervously. "Something else. Your services, perhaps? There is a lot of potential in you, Maeve Scarlet. I would love to tap into that. Your mother was, after all, quite the sorceress herself."_

_I nodded slowly, digesting this suggestion. I knew that this was the only thing Rumplestiltskin would accept as payment. I did not want to practice magic - it was, after all, what got my mother killed. But to bring her back, magic would be necessary . . . I found myself shaking hands with Rumplestiltskin, my hand so absurdly small in his glistening green one. He smiled gruesomely._

_Then he held out his hand and with a puff of purplish smoke, a thick book appeared in his palm, a red heart embedded in its center._

_"And so it begins, Lady Scarlet."_

* * *

"Let me out, you horrible child!" I yelled through the closet door, banging against it until my hand ached. "Let me the hell OUT!" Henry Mills and Red had locked me in Snow's closet, telling me that it was for my own good.

That was total bullshit: it was so that Henry didn't have to witness murder before he reached his teens.

"Let me out," I said, disheartened as I slid from leaning against the door to sit on the floor. The closet was dark and smelled like fabric softener and mothballs. Sitting there, in the dark, I thought I could hear snatches of whispering outside the closet door. But after a moment I realised that I _was_ hearing whispers - and they weren't coming from outside the door.

A pang of shock and horror went through me as the whispers grew louder, although they were still unintelligible; it sounded like radio static, buzzing angrily in my ears. I covered my head with my hands, pressing my lips together to keep from screaming, but it was difficult. The whispers grew louder and louder, insistent and never-ending. It sent fear shooting through me, and I pulled my legs in a bit closer defensively.

"Stop it," I hissed to the whispers that clouded my thoughts. "Stop it please stop." But they refused, that buzzing invading every corner of the cramped closet, until I could feel it shuddering through my limbs. And then, miraculously, it stopped. The closet was dead silent, everything still and quiet and deceptively peaceful.

I wasn't certain how long I sat like that, curled up as though hiding from an attack, shivering every so often like a side-effect from the whispers. I kept waiting for them to return, to creep up on me while I had my guard down like before; but the closet and my mind remained stoic and utterly silent, which only increased my nervousness.

When Red appeared what felt like days later and yanked open the closet door, I tumbled to the floor, entirely unprepared. She stared at me curiously for a moment, and I shrugged it off while I stood, brushing off my jeans. "It's fine, I'm fine - I just fell asleep in the closet you two LOCKED ME INSIDE OF."

Red winced. "Yeah. Sorry about that. But now we have a slightly more pressing issue." I raised a questioning eyebrow and took a seat on the couch. "And that would be?"

"Well, Regina, kind of - she has her magic back. And she took Henry."

* * *

_"Focus, dearie. Focus!"_

_I scowled, squinting at the candle before me, holding my hand out to it. "Maybe if you quit yelling in my ear, I could focus," I grumbled in annoyance. "And I told you not to call me dearie!"_

_Rumplestiltskin sighed in exasperation, but perked up a bit when I snapped my fingers and a small, but existing, flame sparked to life on the candle's wick. I grinned, pleased, as it flickered in the breeze from the window._

_I was sitting in the Dark One's castle, which made me both incredibly nervous and incredibly excited. On the one hand, I was in the home of the deadliest sorcerer in the entire realm; but I was also being trained by the most powerful being in existence. I, Maeve Scarlet, was considered good enough to be given that honour. _

_"Here, try the book," Rumplestiltskin said, holding out the heavy tome he'd presented me with on that dark night so many months before. I stared at it in slight disgust, watching my own distorted reflection crinkle its nose in the embossed red heart at the covers center. _

_"I hate that thing," I said, inching away from the book. "The spells are all . . . wrong." This was very true: the spells in the book somehow felt weird to me, and almost made me sick. Using their magic was like eating stale food. It wasn't as powerful as pure magic._

_"Besides," I added confidently, glancing at my lit candle. "I can use my own magic. See?" I snapped my fingers again, and a gust of wind blew through the open window and snuffed out the candle. Rumplestiltskin stared at me for a moment, looking almost disappointed. Then he shrugged to himself and tucked the book in a nearby shelf that was crammed with other volumes._

_"Try something trickier, then," he said, glancing around the room. "Perhaps . . . vanishing spell?" He gestured towards a vase on the table next to the candle. "Send it over there." He pointed to the bookshelf. I took a deep breath and nodded once, already concentrating._

_I could feel it within me, like my veins were heating up and boiling my bloodstream; every fiber of my body was burning up, but in a way that was almost pleasant. "I can do this," I whispered, mostly for my own benefit. Rumplestiltskin was not even watching, as he studied his own fingernails and leaned back in his chair._

_Raising my hand at the vase, I kept whispering that mantra as I stared at the object. "Come on," I whispered. "Come on, Maeve. Vanishing - not that hard." I waved my hand, squeezing my eyes shut with the focus, and when I blinked them open, the vase was in my teacher's glistening hand, a foot away from the bookshelf._

_He smirked at me and placed it carefully on the shelf. "Not bad, de -" he caught my look of frustration and said, if a bit sarcastically, "- Lady Scarlet." I felt a flush of pride as he nodded to himself._

_"Not bad at all."_

* * *

"He was right, you know," I said quietly as Regina entered the living room. The woman jumped, startled, then grew angry very quickly. I figured I had about two minutes before she threatened to turn me into a glow worm.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she demanded, although I could hear the tightness in her voice; she was hiding something, once again.

I sighed. "Rumple, I meant - he told you that the book contains only straight-up spells? Not good on the system at all, love. Terrible for the digestive tract - trust me, I know."

Regina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The book - how do you know about the book?" I laughed quietly, although my grin disappeared when I realised that the former queen was not kidding. I frowned, annoyed.

"You didn't honestly think that Rumple only showed your family that thing, did you?" I asked. "I'm all too familiar with that book, Regina, so I am aware of the side-effects. Queasiness, dizziness, headaches, occasional fainting spells - a lot like excessive amounts of vodka, really." I stood up, drumming my fingers on the arm of the chair.

"What do you want?" Regina said, backing up a bit. "I don't have anything to give you. The ability to go out in public has been revoked from me, too, so I can't hand that over." I snorted derisively.

"David can handle that little situation. I'm here to give _you_ something, Regina: a warning." She stiffened, watching me with wariness as I made my way ever closer to her. I stood a mere two feet from the evil queen, staring her in the eye and saying quietly, "Choose wisely, Miss Mills. Seconds chances don't come around often in this town, I find - so don't screw up the only one you have." I glanced up, at the ceiling. "The one you have with Henry."

Regina glared daggers at me, but I simply backed away, looking at the spellbook in her majesty's hands. "I'd burn it, if I were you. Or bury it. Lock it away. Don't bother using it - that thing only ruins people. For once in your life, Regina Mills, trust me. It'll ruin your life even more than you already have."

* * *

_"When are we going to bring back my mother?"_

_I was standing in Rumplestiltskin's castle, his stupid book in hand, glaring at the Dark One. He was at a nearby table, measuring out ingredients for some potion or other - I didn't really care. The only issue on my mind was the lack of attempts to revive my mother._

_"Oh, that," Rumplestiltskin said dismissively, not looking at me. "Soon enough, dearie. Do be patient." He poured some glowing blue liquid into a vial and swirled it around, looking pleased at his concoction. _

_I slammed the spellbook down onto the table, rattling the contents strewn across the pock-marked surface and sending a crystal phial to the floor, where it shattered. Rumplestiltskin turned his head to stare at me in annoyance as I flipped through the books many, many pages in an angry huff._

_"There's nothing about bringing people back from the dead," I hissed furiously, shutting the book's cover with a thud hard enough to send another phial tumbling to the stone floor of the Dark One's tower._

_"It can't be done, Rumplestiltskin!" I exclaimed, breathing hard and fast as my voice grew louder. "I can't bring her back! Why didn't you tell me?!"_

_Instead of giving me a real answer, the sorcerer simply shrugged vaguely and turned back to his work, tipping a bright red liquid into his blue one; it bubbled for a moment before turning a violent shade of purple. I reached up, infuriated, and smacked the phial out of his hand; it smashed into a hundred pieces on the floor, the purple potion steaming on the stone tiles._

_"What the hell was that?" he asked in a voice that was not loud, but constricted with fury. I knew he was angry, but that was the point - I needed to argue with him, and to do that, I needed him furious. "That was me telling you not to ignore me," I snapped._

_Rumplestiltskin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's wise?" I shrugged, not giving a rat's ass if my actions were appropriate or not. "To hell with formalities," I spat angrily, clenching my hands into fists. "You lied to me. I can't bring my mum back from the dead."_

_"Did the book say that?" he asked amusedly, as if I were some child he needed to correct. "Perhaps you read it incorrectly, or misunders-"_

_"I didn't misunderstand anything, you spineless bastard!" I yelled; it felt fantastic to yell at him, to get it all out in the open. "You should've told me I couldn't bring her back! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL ME!"_

_There was a long pause as Rumplestiltskin glared down at me, rage written in his every feature. Then he seemed to take a deep breath and calmed a fair bit, simmering to a steady annoyance. "I wanted to see how strong you were. You're Delphine's daughter, after all - you have power. That all could have gone to waste."_

_"This is about my mum?" I asked in revulsion. "Because she could do magic?"_

_"Dark magic," he said, a greedy glint in his eyes. "If I could manage her power, as well as my own, then I could -"_

_"I don't care what you could do." My voice was cold as ice. People discussing my mother's involvement in dark magic was not something I particularly enjoyed, especially coming from people like the Dark One. "I wanted her back, you lied to me, and that's all there is. I'm leaving."_

_"So soon, dearie?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming at him again._

_"Yes, so soon, Rumple." I threw as much fury and mockery into the word as humanly possible. "Because I will bring her back. Eventually, I will bring my mother back." I stalked from the tower, towards the castle doors and the world beyond them._

_ "No matter the cost."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Hallo, ducklings! ;) Only two days left! There is too much excitement for capslock to fully communicate, so I won't even bother. ;D Anyway, this chapter gave y'all some more insight to how Maeve and Rumple originally knew each other (I didn't want them to be all friendly at first, considering Rumple never meets anyone under friendly circumstances. Ever. Not even his damn wife.) And yes, Delphine's death will be explained more - in great detail, actually, because it is a big part of Maeve's personal history. So that'll be coming up soon! Yay! :) Also, as I stated in the season two sneak-peek-thingie, Maeve's hallucinations have made their return! It wasn't very big or dramatic, but they will become worse. So . . . yay (not really)!**

**A huge thank you to Crazyhyper09, Louie du lac, Miss.V Potter, eclispex.x, fireman12468 for following, and Anaica, Kira Tsumi and Summer Jackson for your awesome reviews. Thanks so much to everyone who is reading this story, as it honestly means so much to me. :) Lots of love, wonderful flowers! ;) **

**Also, in answer to Kira Tsumi's suggestion: bloopers would be a great idea! :D Wish I'd thought of that before. Oh, well - season two finale, then. Thanks! :)**

**Next update will be ASAP, as I'm actually writing these astonishingly fast, although I have two history projects due Friday and then Monday, so maybe not quite as fast this week. Hope y'all liked this chapter and have a fantastic week/day/period-of-time until I next update. :D **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	25. I'll Pick Freedom

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT. Everything but Maeve and Isadora belongs to Adam and Eddie. Enjoy the update! **

* * *

"The happiness reinforcements have arrived!"

"What the hell?" I muttered, my eyes still closed as I slowly lifted my head from the pillow it had previously been smushed against. The light in my bedroom suddenly flicked on and I blinked, rubbing sleep out of my eyes as I sat up, every inch of me exhausted.

"Happy Wednesday, Maeve!" Ruby sat down on the edge of my bed, grinning. "You've been hiding inside for ages, and your best friend is officially here to try and cheer you up in your time of complete solitude!" She said all of this as if there might be a good side.

"No." I laid back down onto the pillow, burrowing deeper into my comforter; Ruby simply stood, pulling the blankets off of me and dragging me off of the bed in the process. I landed on the floor with a small thud and a yelp of surprise and annoyance. "Re - Ruby!" I corrected myself hastily. She had been asking people to call her Ruby for the past several days, despite the curse being broken.

"It is - wait, what time is it?" I asked, confused. Ruby held out her phone, which had 8:33 printed across the time stamp in bold. I sighed and collapsed against the floorboards, still not entirely awake. "I don't need a babysitter, Ruby."

She shook her head, pulling a red bag up onto her lap. "I'm not babysitting you - I'm here to cheer you up. Solitary confinement probably sucks -"

"You don't even know the half of it."

"- so I figured some happy stuff would be . . . good for you," she finished, opening the bag. "Now, where do we start? I brought some books that Granny had somewhere, 'cause I know you - or Lindsey, at least - have read every book in this house." She smiled knowingly at me as I sat up and leaned my back against my bed. "And there's some movies - Lindsey's favourites, so I figure you'll like them, too - and chocolate, of course -"

"Can't forget the chocolate," I piped up, half-smiling despite my tiredness. "Chocolate is the source of all happiness, after all."

"- and naturally there are some old mixtapes Lindsey gave me and things. You, Maeve, need a serious pick-me-up after the potential beheading you nearly had." She winked at me and pulled out some books and movies, spreading them out on the bed. "Take your pick."

I stood, brushing myself off. "I think I'll pick freedom, actually." Ruby gave me a warning look as I pulled a leather jacket on over the t-shirt I'd slept in, and tugged on a pair of leggings.

"Maeve, David says -"

"How many people am I going to have to tell this to?" I said, exasperated. "I do not take orders from David freaking Charming! Besides, there are far more useful things in this town to do than hide in my room for another day. If Rumplestiltskin can walk around town without causing a damn riot, then so can I."

And with that, I stormed from the room, zipping up my jacket and stopping only to grab my combat boots by the front door. I wasn't sure where Isadora had gotten to, but all things considered, I was glad she was not around to see me leave. The last thing I needed was a stressed-out aunt yelling about my impending public execution.

* * *

I _fell painfully onto the ground outside the castle, soldiers surrounding me, their boots harsh against my soft skin. I curled inwards on myself, attempting to hide anything of vital importance. _

_"Get away from me!" I said, desperately holding back tears. One of the soldiers laughed, glaring down at my crumpled form. _

_"Can't. Orders from the Queen - and we must follow our orders." He laughed again, as did one of his fellow guards, before one of them shoved me a few feet away and the group trouped back into the castle grounds, their cruel laughter sparking anger and overwhelming pain in my chest. I was being weak - so weak that it made me sick to my stomach._

_Stumbling to my feet, I waved my hands; a gust of wind sent the guards tumbling into the castle walls, all of them crying out in surprise and astonishment. "You should've left me alone when you had the chance," I whispered furiously, flicking my wrist. Their arms and legs remained pinned to the stone wall as they slid up it, yelling for help._

_"What are you?!" one of them demanded as he struggled futilely. I let out a brief, humourless laugh as the soldiers attempted to free themselves._

_"Not _what_, you useless moron," I hissed. "_Who._ My name is Lady Scarlet - and you lot are going to send Queen Regina a little message for me." I snapped my fingers, and the crack echoed around the deserted courtyard. The three guards' heads slumped suddenly, and they hung limply from the walls - dead._

_"Poor things," I muttered sarcastically, waving my hand; vines grew from cracks in the wall, twining around the soldiers' corpses and keeping them aloft. "At least their queen will find them eventually." I whipped around on my heel, moving to march off as a shooting pain lanced through my right leg. They had tried to beat me to death, after all._

_I fell to the ground, cursing, and pulled up my trouser leg: my calf was covered in blooming bruises, no spot of flesh untouched. There was a trio of nasty gashes up the back of the calf, as well, and it was swollen worryingly. _

_"Damn," I muttered in frustration. "For once, I could have made a clean escape." I struggled to my feet and quickly marched away from the castle, back to the road, where I could find a horse or a carriage to sneak onto. Something._

_"You need a ride?"_

_I whirled around, panicked, and saw a young brunette boy sitting on the back of a chestnut horse. He was staring down at me in curiosity and a bit warily; I chewed the inside of my lip, peering up at him. His face was difficult to see properly in the fading dusk, but he didn't seem very old. He also didn't appear particularly malevolent, which was good. _

_I sighed quietly. "That would be great, yeah." The boy nodded behind him, and I managed to climb atop the horse, sitting behind the stranger. "Where're you going?" he asked, his accent strong but oddly pleasant. I shrugged. "Anywhere."_

_We began riding, taking off even closer to the road. "What's your name?" he asked._

_"Um - Izzy," I lied quickly, hoping my aunt wouldn't mind my using her nickname. It wasn't as if anyone could trace it to her; she was hiding out on the edge of the realm, and it was not even her real name. _

_"Cute," he laughed, and I felt my cheeks warm. Confused, I touched my fingertips to my cheekbone in astonishment. Was I . . . blushing? Oh my Gods. This was insanity._

_"And yours?" I questioned, awkwardly skating over the moment of tense silence. The boy glanced back at me over his shoulder, smiling at me. It was bizarre; I almost liked the way he was looking at me. _

_"You can call me Simon."_

* * *

"Maeve? What the hell are you doing here?"

David was staring up at me from piles of folders and books that cluttered the desk at the sheriff's station. I sighed heavily, striding into the room and crossing my arms across my chest. "I am here, Charming, to help get my friends - your wife and daughter - back."

He closed his eyes briefly in what appeared to be exhaustion. "Maeve, we've talked about this."

"No," I said flatly. "_You've_ talked about this; so now I will. I'm not going to hide in my bedroom while the town goes to hell around me, alright? Snow and Emma fell down a goddamn vortex of doom, Henry's sneaking around behind everyone's backs, the only realm-jumper in town is wallowing in his own self-pity, and you, David Charming, are entirely incapable of doing research! So I am not going to just sit this one out - that is final."

David said nothing, only stared at me for a bit longer. I was panting a bit, having said most of that brief tirade rather quickly, and there was a feeling of satisfied contentment in me; I had finally said it. I had been thinking those words for the past three days, but I hadn't spoken them aloud until then - and it felt fantastic.

"What did you say?" Those were not the words I was expecting David to say; nonetheless, I responded as normally as possible.

"I'm not staying at home," I repeated.

"No, no," he said, shaking his head. "Not that - I got that part. I meant the part about Henry."

I shrugged dismissively. "I saw him earlier, when I was coming over here, running out of Regina's place. He seemed kinda suspicious." David looked exasperated.

"He was supposed to be in school," he explained, pulling on his jacket and walking out the door. "He's probably doing something - well, something not good. Where was he going?"

I shrugged again, confused. "No idea - the kid didn't exactly stop to ask for directions."

David shot me an annoyed glance. "Why didn't you stop him, if he was acting so damn suspicious?" I held my hands up defensively for a moment before putting on my best imitation of Blue.

"Children must find their own paths in life," I said sagely in a sing-song voice. David rolled his eyes and began marching out of the station, me trailing after him. "It was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"I don't care about your impressions of Blue," he snapped, clearly annoyed. "I need to find my grandson. We can discuss your coming out of hiding later," David added, and I frowned. In my experience 'we'll discuss it later' with most adults meant 'it's never going to happen'. Of course, Prince Charming was not most adults.

When David and I arrived at the mausoleum, I immediately thought back to that night with Emma and Graham and Regina, all of them shouting outside the shack of death while my first hallucination took place. Just returning sent chills running up my spine. It felt so distant, like decades ago instead of months.

"In there," the prince said, gesturing to the door. I sighed; Regina just had to hide all of her magical mysteries inside the dollhouse for dead people, didn't she? I stepped inside and, upon seeing the open casket and the staircase, I began my descent into the Evil Queen's lair.

I dropped from the third-last step and onto the ground, glancing around the room: Henry was kneeling a short distance away, an open chest in front of him with two dreadfully familiar serpent heads loomed from its inside: an Agrabah viper. David appeared beside me and immediately darted forwards, pulling Henry out of the way of the snapping viper's jaws. I picked up an ancient, rusted sword that lay in the dusty corner, and slashed downward, squeezing my eyes shut; there was a loud tearing sound, like cardboard, and when I opened one eye tentatively, the viper heads were on the stone floor, a puddle of blood surrounding them. Then I glanced down at my leggings and swore.

"Maeve!" David admonished, reaching to cover Henry's ears; I didn't care.

I gestured in fury to my leggings, which were spattered with red. "Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of leggings?!" I paused, shaking my head quickly. "You're a guy, course you don't. Well, it's really bloody hard, alright!" I swiped uselessly at the bloodstains, but they stubbornly remained.

"Maybe you should leave the adventures to a minimum for now, okay?" David said, leaning down to see Henry. The kid nodded reluctantly, still looking at the snake heads in disgust. David, seeing the direction of his grandson's gaze, immediately began to lead us all out of the lair.

When we resurfaced, the cemetery seeming almost pleasant compared to Regina's vault, I looked mournfully down at my pants. "And I loved these leggings."

* * *

_"So . . . where're you from?" I was still on the back of Simon's horse after two hours. I was sore, and tired, and a bit annoyed by his constant questions and lack of a surname; but I was also rather curious, and I had learned a long time before that curiosity could never be truly ignored. So I stayed._

_"Harrington," I replied casually, although the name still sent a pang of sadness through my chest. It had been nearly twenty-five years - probably more, in fact - since my mother's death, but it had been a time I would never be able to escape. "What about you?"_

_"Northern Isles," he said, and I nodded absently. The Northern Isles were a series of tiny islands, mostly farmland, that occupied a massive freshwater lake. _

_Suddenly, there was the clop of horse hooves on stone as a cluster of guards came riding down the road from behind us - guards from Regina's palace. My breath caught sharply in my throat as they approached, surprise overpowering all other thoughts. I hadn't thought Queen Regina quite intelligent enough to respond to my message with such speed or effectiveness. I might have been impressed; that is, if I was not about to die horribly._

_"Damn," I muttered as the troupe of guards spotted me and surrounded Simon's horse. I felt a pang of pity as the boy sitting in front of me said in shock, "What's happening? Izzy, what's going on?" He sounded so panicked that I almost felt sorry for him._

_"Nothing much," I replied quietly as the last soldier rode up to us, unsheathing his broadsword as he went. "Just a small . . . issue that I have to handle. I'll be back in a minute." I slid off of the horse, still a bit sore from riding for so long, and strode right up to the nearest guard._

_"Lady Scarlet," he said, nodding mockingly. I nodded once, studying him for a moment before speaking in return. "The Queen's guard, I presume?" The soldier laughed harshly and nodded._

_"Right . . . well, just know that you all brought this on yourselves." I whipped around, my arm coming up in a precise blur, pitching one of my daggers forwards hard enough to impale one of the soldiers' forehead. He dropped from his saddle, crumpling to the ground. _

_I turned just as the broadsword-wielding soldier approached me with his blade; I unsheathed my other dagger and caught the sword between the blade and the hilt, stopping it inches from my nose, and tsked. "Well, that's just rude, isn't it?" I shoved the broadsword away from myself and slashed out with the knife, opening a deep gash in the soldier's stomach. He yelled and clutched at his abdomen._

_"And you," I said, turning slowly and marching up to the third and final soldier, who was almost trembling atop his steed. "What exactly am I going to do to you?" I picked up the fallen guard's sword, tracing the edge with my finger as I walked purposefully towards my last opponent. He lashed the reins and his horse broke into a steady run, cantering away too fast for me to hit him without a bow and arrow._

_"Not nearly as impressive as the last group," I remarked offhandedly as the second guard fell off of his horse, shouting curses at me. I sighed and slashed down with the sword, effectively cutting off his screams. "These ones barely fought back." _

_"Lady Scarlet?" I froze, having forgotten about Simon; the boy had remained on his horse the entire time, silent. Turning around slowly, cautiously, I saw the brunette standing beside the steed, his fingers tangled in the reins. He was watching me curiously, not fearfully, which gave me a pang of hope that I did not fully understand at the time._

_"Yes." My voice was bizarrely quiet and careful; I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Why aren't you running? Most people start running."_

_"Do you want me to run?"_

_"No." I was not certain why I had said that. _

_Simon paused, then flashed me a small smile that made my heart flutter in an unusual, unfamiliar way that was a nice kind of unpleasant. "Then I won't run."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so . . . y'all finally met Simon! I know, I know, took me long enough to introduce him, but trust me – he was worth the wait. So far he seems like an alright person, I know, but he's evil. He was the guy in Lindsey's hallucinations (see chapter seventeen). Now you guys get to see their little story thingie. **** Enjoy! **

**In other news, a massive thank you to the wonderful flower MaliceinWonderland23 for her amazing review! I honestly cannot tell you how much that meant and means to me, so just thank you thank you thank you you amazing person! **** Also a gigantic thanks to 13 and hodhod2011danger for favourite-ing. **

**My laptop is still in the fixing process (****) but I will update as often as I'm able. Also my GPA is kind of slipping (math is this semester) so that also must be dealt with. But I will keep writing this as much as I can. Next chapter is half-complete already, and will be up within the next week or so. Lots of fluffy friendship stuff ahead, and some Belle French as well, so stay tuned! **** Until next time, my lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	26. We're Off To See The Library

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or anything except Maeve and Simon. Everything else belongs to Adam and Eddie. :) Enjoy! **

* * *

_"My heart was blowing in the hurricanes,_

_my heart was blowing in your love, in your love._

_My heart was flying in tornadoes,_

_my heart was flying in your love, in your love."_

_- Pentatonix, Natural Disaster _

* * *

I burst into Granny's, my arms full of manila folders and books, a trio of highlighters tucked into my jacket pocket.

"Maeve," Leroy said from the counter, nodding once to me in way of greeting; I nodded back, briefly, before sliding into my booth in the very corner of the diner. Leroy said something that involved my name, but I wasn't paying attention as I flipped my laptop open on the table before me and clicked open a Google page.

"Ruby," I said absently as I noticed my friend walking up to me from the corner of my eye. "Could I have a tea, pretty please?"

She sighed. "It's your third this morning, you know." I nodded again, not caring.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But all things considered, I need a break from the coffee." That was something I had recently consumed in abundance: my best friend had brought nearly a dozen cups of steaming coffee to me in the duration of my stay within the diner.

"Decaf, then?" she suggested hopefully. I snorted in amusement, shaking my head as I typed into the search bar.

"That's cute, Ruby. I need caffeine – just less of it." Then, with another sigh, Ruby flounced away in her heels to retrieve my tea. A distant part of my mind wondered which kind she would pick that time.

I continued to type hurriedly, my fingers clacking away on the keyboard until they were a blur. Opening three different websites, I scrolled through each one in about five minutes, scanning them as quickly as possible. _Black holes do not end in singularity, but are 'portals to another universe'. Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) suggests that spacetime is atomic, or granular, which changes significantly the application of general relativity, which – _I reached for my pen, keeping my eyes on the screen.

I fumbled on the table next to the computer, but found no pen. I cursed and searched around my seat and on the floor, yielding no results. "Where did the damn pen go?"

"Check your hair," Ruby said, materialising beside me. I did as she suggested and found the pen there, stuck through my bun; tugging it out, sending my hair tumbling loose around my shoulders in the process, I scrawled a hasty note on a loose sheet of paper. Then I stuck in inside a manila folder and quickly labelled it 'Science Theories'.

Ruby took the seat across from me. "Maeve, you need to stop." She reached across the table and grabbed my wrist, stopping me from writing anything else down. "You've been here, doing this practically non-stop, for the past twelve hours." I glanced down at the mound of papers, conflicted.

"I have to keep going," I argued, pulling back my hand; Ruby let it go, although she still looked concerned for my sanity. "It's the only way I can help Emma and Snow – you know that."

"That's true," she said, sighing. "But Maeve, I also know that neither of them would want you to keep doing this. It's not good for you, and you know it." Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, satisfied with her words; I scowled with equal amounts of stubbornness.

"I have to help them," I repeated, but even in my own ears that argument sounded pathetic. "They're in serious crap, Ruby. They fell down the magical equivalent of a black hole – into, and I quote Regina here, a 'blank void of nothingness'."

Ruby pursed her lips, thinking. "Look, I get that you want to help them – believe me, I want to help them, too. But David has the dwarves mining for fairy dust. They'll be able to do something pretty soon –''

"But 'pretty soon' might not be soon enough," I retorted, frustrated. How did Ruby not see that I had to do everything I could do get them back? Emma and Snow needed to be rescued, and I was the best researcher in town; it was simple.

"You do what you want," my friend said, standing up again. "Just – make sure you're careful, okay, Maeve? Don't – just be careful. Please." Then she walked off, leaving me confused and mildly irritated, although that might have been due to over-consumption of caffeine.

With a newfound spark of determination and stubbornness, I returned to the research with renewed vigor, taking a sip of the tea that Ruby had left for me. It scalded my throat, but Lindsey had always been right about one thing: tea always helped.

* * *

"_Tea?" I gaped at Simon in utter astonishment; the brunette grinned._

"_If you could see your face," he said quietly before explaining. "Yes, Maeve, tea." I felt the now-familiar butterflies when he said my name; it had been so long since anyone had called me by it, but it was more than that. It was as if I loved the sound of it simply because Simon was saying it, which was both ridiculous and perfectly logical at the same time._

"_Why are we going to tea with –'' I froze as I read the rest of the letter, shock running through my every vein. "– with the Queen of Hearts?!" Simon nodded, still smiling; I, on the other hand, was still very much in shock._

"_The Queen of Hearts," I whispered in bafflement. "Cora Mills." Simon nodded again, twining his fingers with mine, which made my heart beat a bit faster despite my overwhelming surprise at the invitation I held. _

"_Yes, with the Queen of Hearts. You can finally do it – take your revenge! Isn't that what you've always wanted?" He frowned, looking confused; I sighed deeply, clutching the letter tightly._

"_Yes." The word was a whisper, but it seemed so loud in the forest we resided within. "Yes, I'll go. Thank you," I added, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. Simon laughed happily, hugging me back and lifting me off my feet in the process._

"_Put me down!" I protested, but I was laughing, so it was hardly intimidating. Simon grinned cheekily at me and whispered, "Make me, Lady Scarlet."_

"_Perhaps I will," I whispered back, the laughter suddenly gone and replaced by a tension that made me both uncomfortable and incredibly thrilled. Something like shivers raced up my spine as Simon set me down on my feet and I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. The kiss tasted like pine and cold, clean air and the forest, which was what Simon always seemed to taste like to me. His arms twined around my waist, picking me up off my feet and pulling me even closer to him._

_He walked us backwards until we reached a tree trunk, and he pushed my back against the bark; it was rough, but we were not exactly gentle people. Simon's cold fingers traced along my waist, up and underneath my tunic; I pulled away from the kiss for a moment to breathe, and he took the opportunity to slowly pull the tunic right up and over my head, discarding it onto the leaf-strewn forest floor._

"_Not here," I whispered, pushing him now; I backed him into the canvas tent we slept in, and pushed him down onto the cot we shared. "Here is much better." Simon nodded once in agreement and wasted no time pulling me back down onto him._

_Our mouths molded together briefly before I tugged his tunic off, running my hands along his bare back; he was always so cold, and his chilled skin sent shivers up my hands. He marched rough kisses down my neck, to my bare collarbone, where he traced along the bone with his freezing cold fingers. "I'm at your mercy again, Lady Scarlet."_

_I smirked, leaning down to kiss him again. "I believe you are. But you should only hope I'll _be _merciful, Simon Welles."_

* * *

"Anything yet?" Ruby slid into the seat across from me tentatively; nearly two hours had passed since our argument, and I had not said a word to her since then. As my best friend pushed a mug of fresh tea towards me, I gave her a curt nod of thanks.

"Come on, Maeve," she said, clearly frustrated. "You know everything I said is true. So just – talk to me, alright? I just want to know how your precious research is going."

I sighed quietly before finally responding. "Not fantastic. I've found tons of stuff about black holes, and alternate dimensions, and don't even get me started on the astral projection theories – but nothing about jump-starting a portal." I leaned back in my seat tiredly, the past fifteen hours catching up with me as my eyelids drooped shut for a moment.

"You should go home," Ruby said, and I could hear the exasperation in her voice. "Izzy's worried about you, and you seriously need the sleep." I nodded absently, blinking my eyes open and standing up. "I'll ask Leroy to bring the research down to David," Ruby added as I moved to pack up my many folders and notes. I smiled gratefully before stretching, my hands above my head and arching my back like a cat.

"I better get back to work," Ruby said, walking away. I felt a pang of guilt and tossed a quick "thank you" her way before turning to leave. But that was when I noticed who was sitting in the booth behind mine.

"This is your third iced tea this morning," Ruby said, grinning, as she slid the drink across the table. "I think I might have to call you a cab soon."

The girl in the booth laughed quietly. "No, no - I've just never had it iced before."

Recognition ran through me: the unusual yet pleasant accent, the startlingly blue eyes, the quiet laugh. I stood there for a long moment, shocked, as Belle French took another sip of iced tea and my best friend took the seat across from her.

"Belle?" I asked, still surprised. "Belle French?"

The girl turned around to see me standing there, and a sudden smile split her face. "Miss Scarlet!" she exclaimed, and I nodded numbly; I still couldn't quite believe it. Belle French, the supposedly dead ex-girlfriend of Rumplestiltskin, was sitting in Granny's diner, right behind me.

"I – we all thought – but you're dead," I managed to stammer out, baffled. Belle blushed a bit before saying, "I'm, um, I'm not dead. Regina kept me locked up – she must have told Rumple I was dead, though, because that's what he believed as well." She was smiling at me a bit awkwardly now, and I realised that I was still staring at her as if I had spotted a ghost.

"Sorry," I said quickly, and Belle raised her eyebrows in astonishment as I slid into the booth next to Ruby, who frowned disapprovingly at me.

"Maeve, you need to get home," she said. "Seriously, fifteen hours of research has to take it out of a person."

I shrugged indifferently. "I'm fine – haven't seen Belle in, well, decades." Belle smiled. "We need to catch up."

"So . . . how's life?" I asked, sipping the tea Ruby had given me. Belle shrugged indifferently, stirring her iced tea around with her straw and sticking through her slice of lemon. "What the hell did he do now?" I continued, and the brunette looked surprised.

"How do you know -?"

"Sweetie, your boyfriend is the Dark One," I said, cutting her off. "I figure that if you're this mopey, then he must've done something stupid – he has a knack for that." Ruby looked shocked by this revelation, but I opted to ignore her questioning glance.

"So, what did he do?" I asked again, tapping on the side of my mug. "Kill someone? Seriously injure? Piss Charming off? Say something sociopathic? He's not turning people into slugs again, is he?" I added, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

Belle shook her head with a soft laugh. "No, nothing like that. He was - well, he was practicing magic again." I pressed my lips together, shoving my curiosity aside; what the hell was Rumple up to?

"Old habits die hard," I said, attempting to play devil's advocate. "Ask Ruby - I still suggest murder every few hours, don't I?"

"She does," Ruby said, nodding in agreement. "Vivid ideas, as well."

I shrugged. "I cannot suppress my homicidal ingenious."

"No, you cannot."

There was a long moment of silence in which Belle stared at the pair of us as though we had lost our minds. Then Ruby and I burst out laughing. "I was kidding," I said, trying to stem my sudden flood of giggles. "Sorry, sorry, bad joke, I know. But I was kidding." I paused thoughtfully. "Mostly kidding."

"Do you have any family here?" Ruby asked, and I curled my lip a bit at the mention of Belle's family as Sir Maurice's pudgy, idiotic face flashed across my mind.

"I'm still looking," Belle replied sadly. "But what I really need is a life. I've a, er, kept woman, for a while." We exchanged a brief glance and her lips twitched up into a momentary smile. "I need something like . . . like a job."

"What do you like to do?" Ruby asked, and I sipped my tea to suppress a smile; I knew what the girl would say, having seen the library Rumple built for her so many decades ago.

Belle's smile grew. "I do love books."

"The library," I suggested from behind my mug. "It's been closed forever."

"But," Ruby added optimistically. "Things are changing now. Maybe you could open it!" Belle beamed at this idea and I stood from the booth, brushing off my jeans and placing my empty mug down.

"I've broken in there before - I can walk you," I said. "It's not all that far." Belle hesitated for a moment before nodding and standing with me. "It was wonderful to meet you, Ruby," she said, and my friend grinned and winked at the girl.

"Great meeting you, too. Maeve," she added, her smile being replaced with a reproachful look. "You should head home soon." I waved a hand dismissively. "I'll sleep when I'm dead - which hopefully won't happen very soon."

Then I looped an arm through Belle's and strode out of the diner with her, ignoring the strange and often hostile looks I received as I quietly hummed 'Off To See the Wizard' under my breath.

* * *

"It's amazing!" Belle peered into the library's window, her hands cupped around her eyes to bring the room into focus. "There are probably hundreds of books."

"Thousands, darlin'," I said, grinning. "I checked a while back."

"When you broke in," she added. I nodded, still smiling broadly. "Yeah, when I broke in. That was my curse-self - her name was Lindsey. She had a bit of a breaking-and-entering kick a while back."

"You sound like - well, as if she wasn't really you," Belle remarked curiously as we circled around to the side door.

I shrugged. "She wasn't, was she? Lindsey and Maeve are two different people, living in the same mind. Damn," I muttered absently at this Yoda-like statement.

"You sound like the Blue Fairy," Belle joked, and I blinked in surprised before pretending to vomit on the sidewalk.

"Please never say that again," I begged as I walked up to the side door. "Ever. I'd rather be Regina freaking Mills than Blue." This was astonishingly true. I wrapped my hands tightly around the door handle and pulled with all my strength, but it was locked and shut tight. "This might take a minute." I pulled a pair of hairpins from my pocket and crouched down in front of the lock, peering inside.

"Excuse me," said a timid voice from behind us. Belle jumped a bit, startled, and I raised a questioning eyebrow at the squat stranger.

"Yes?" I had become increasingly mistrusting of the general population since the breaking of the curse, considering at least seventy-percent of them wanted my head on a stick. But this man seemed harmless enough.

"Could you spare any change?" he asked, and I shook my head; no money. Belle also voiced this.

"Are - are you two alone?" he asked, and I chewed the inside of my lip as I eyed him again. Odd question. "Are you meeting anyone?" Before I could say anything, Belle replied with a 'no'. That was when things went seriously downhill.

"Just checking," he said before shoving me into the wall and grabbing Belle's arms, pinning them behind her back. I stood, rushing after them, but the man simply picked up a brick from the road and swung it at my head, where it slammed into my forehead.

I crumpled to the cold pavement, pain lancing through my head as I stared after them, Belle struggling in the man's grip as he dragged her away. Then the dark spots consumed my vision entirely and I sank gratefully into the blank void of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Maeve? Maeve, wake up!"

"What the hell?!" I sat bolt upright, confusion the only thing on my mind as I shrugged off the person who had been shaking me. Blinking painfully in the sudden sunlight, the world spinning precariously around me, I leaned back down against the sidewalk.

"Maeve?" When my vision refocused I could see Henry Mills kneeling over me, looking incredibly worried.

I slowly sat up, clutching my forehead; I could feel something warm and sticky there, and my entire skull was throbbing horribly. "What happened?" Henry was staring at my forehead in horror, but his question rattled me more than the pain: Belle, the man with the red hat, the brick.

"Oh, shit," I muttered, not caring all that much about Henry's proximity to my profanity. "Crap, crap, crap!" I stood, pressing a firm hand to the cut on my forehead as I stumbled forwards, not certain where I was going.

"Maeve, David's this way!" Henry said from behind me. David. Right. I spun around, concentrating on not falling over in the process, and made my dizzy way to the sheriff's station with Henry panicking the whole time.

* * *

"Head wounds always appear worse than they really are, so the bleeding isn't significant. Minor concussion, though - perhaps she should remain here for a few hours or so. For observation, of course."

I shook my head stubbornly, although that sent a small pang of nausea through me. "Did no one hear me when I said Belle has been kidnapped?!"

"Maeve, calm down," David said warningly. I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly, furious with the prince, with the doctor, with everyone in the damned room. I was sitting on the edge of a cot in the hospital, Whale, Henry and David watching me.

"I will not calm down!" I replied angrily. "I finally manage to meet someone in this town who doesn't want me dead -" I shot a pointed glance at Whale, who glared at me "- and then she's kidnapped, and you're - what? Not going to do anything about it?" I jumped down from the cot, meaning to march out of the ward. However, I simply fell over from the sudden dizziness that swept over me.

"Damn it," I muttered, carefully picking myself back up and leaning against the cot. Whale was smirking at me, and I had half a mind to slap him. "Just let me use magic," I pleaded to David. "Charming, I need to find her. Please."

David sighed wearily. "Maeve, magic isn't an easily available resource here. It's not that simple."

"Sure it is," I said stubbornly. "I'd do it myself, but you need concentration, and healing spells have never been much of my expertise."

"No, you'd rather go around murdering people," said a voice from the doorway. David and Whale whipped around fearfully as Rumple strode into the room, watching me with an expression of amusement. "Then again, who am I to talk about murder?"

"It's Belle," I said quickly, before anyone could shut me up. "Someone took her, kidnapped her. I can help you find her, but you have to deal with this -" I gestured to my forehead in annoyance. "Otherwise, they won't let me out of this damned room."

Rumple raised a condescending eyebrow at me. "I know about Belle - do you honestly think I wouldn't? This may not be the Enchanted Forest, but I still know everything." He glanced at Whale and the prince, who both seemed perturbed by this announcement. "In any case, Miss Scarlet, what do I have to gain from helping you? I could just as easily find her myself."

I shook my head, ignoring the ripple of pain that action caused. "Bullcrap. If you could, you would've tracked her earlier. You need my help, Rumple - it wouldn't be a first." I gestured to my head, where medical tape had been placed over the gash across my forehead. "Now, if you wouldn't mind getting on with it, I'd like to find your true love."

* * *

"Smee," I said, holding my hand out to Ruby. "His name is Smee. We've - er - well, we've met before." I did not fancy explaining any more than that, considering that our previous meeting had been at the peak of my Lady Scarlet-ness.

"What does this have to do with me?" Ruby asked, looking confused as I held my hand closer to her nose. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You have the smell," I said. "The wolf thing - I remember your grandmother mentioning it once. You could follow his scent, couldn't you? I scratched him, so there's probably something there for you to follow." Ruby tentatively sniffed at my nails, and wrinkled her nose.

"God, he reeks," she said in disgust. "For Belle, Ruby, this is for Belle." She walked out from behind the counter at Granny's and sniffed the air for a moment before striding outside and walking purposefully down the street.

"Coming?" I asked the others. Then Prince Charming and Rumplestiltskin nodded, and together we followed Little Red Riding Hood, who was hot on the trail of Mr. Smee. Sometimes I seriously questioned how my life had become so bizarre.

"He's in there!" Ruby shouted, gesturing to the entrance to the mine tunnels that the dwarves had yet to excavate.

"Hurry," I said, not liking where this was going. We were too close to the town line for my liking and, despite JM Barrie's description, Mr Smee was not as bumbling of an idiot as most would believe. He was crafty, and put Belle, abandoned mine tunnels and a line that erases your memory, and that spelled out disaster clearly enough to make me run a bit faster.

"Smee!" I said coldly as we entered the tunnels. The man was standing before the tracks, tisting his red hat in his hands worriedly. Beside him, much to my annoyance, was none other than Sir Maurice.

"What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, his beady eyes narrowed suspiciously as Rumple entered. I rolled my eyes.

"The mines aren't your property, idiot," I said. "So stop arguing and tell us where your daughter is." Maurice's eyes widened at this remark and his pudgy face paled. Smee began to inch away from our little group, but David unsheathed his sword and shook his head at the little man. Smee stopped, still wringing his hat in his hands.

"Where's Belle?" I demanded. The lack of response was worrying, and I was quickly growing impatient. "We're here to protect her from the moron behind you. The one who kidnapped her," I added, glaring daggers at Smee, who was nearly trembling from fear.

Maurice, however, was the one to crack first. "She needed to forget," he said quietly, as though to himself. "I - I needed to help her forget. She has to forget him." He pointed at Rumple, who looked terrified by this statement.

"He's sending her over the town line."

Ruby gasped quietly, and I glared at both men. "Bring her back," I hissed, my hands curling into fists. "Bring her back now."

"I can't!" Maurice said, shaking his head. "She must forget him! She must forget everything, even me!" He was stepping back, away from me. Beside me, Ruby growled low in her throat, and I was tempted to attack the idiot.

"Do something!" I snapped at Rumple. "You're the goddamn Dark One! Do something!"

Rumple looked startled by my outburst but obeyed, lifting up a hand and closing his eyes tightly, concentrating. A purple light seeped from his palm and into the air, shooting down the darkened tunnels and after his love. I bit my lip, too anxious to care if anyone noticed.

The rumbling of a mine cart arrived, followed by an actual mine cart that swerved rapidly down the tracks, backwards, Rumple's purple light surrounding it. The cart rolled to a stop at the edge of the tracks, and I could hear the click of handcuffs through the shadows. Then out came Belle French, stumbling from the cart and onto solid ground.

"You okay?" I asked, and she nodded. She appeared terrified but unhurt, and I decided that perhaps Smee wouldn't have to die. Although there was still the chance for Maurice . . .

I glanced over at Belle, who was pushing away from Rumple and whispering something to him. He looked crestfallen but managed to step aside, allowing her to walk past him. Then she turned to her father.

"You're no better," she said, her voice cold. "You don't get to decide what I do or how I feel - I do. I don't want to see either of you." Then she stalked out of the tunnels, Ruby and I following after her, leaving Maurice and Rumple distraught, and David incredibly confused.

* * *

_The sword glinted dangerously in the dim light, his brown eyes reflected in the blade. His smile flashed through the shadows, and I grinned back at him, my heart pounding with anticipation._

_"This'll work?" I asked quietly. Simon nodded. "Absolutely, love."_

_He gestured towards the door, behind which music and laughter could be heard. Our target was inside that tavern, having a drink or two, completely relaxed, his guard down. Simon had insisted we do this while he was distracted, his tactics flawless. I used to wonder how a farmhand could create such brilliant schemes, but had long since abandoned the question. That was simply how Simon was._

_He leaned over and pressed a brief kiss to my lips, one that sent butterflies fluttering throughout me. Then he gestured to the door again. "After you, darling."_

My eyes snapped open, my heart racing and my breathing erratic. I shook my head, my legs slowly curling into me as I turned onto my side. It couldn't be him, he couldn't have returned to haunt my dreams, not again -

"Hallo, darling." I flinched as the voice whispered softly in my ear. It was just as I had remembered it: the thick accent somehow making the words lilt in just the right way, the tone quiet with a slight edge to it, every syllable like a knife to my chest.

"No," I hissed, although negating the hallucination was futile and I knew it. "No, it can't be you. No no no no not again please no." But the voice continued, whispering my name over and over again as cold fingertips ghosted along my arms and shoulders.

"Maeve, Maeve, Maeve," he whispered softly. "It's almost as if you aren't happy to see me." His fingers traced along my collarbone, sending those horrifically familiar shivers through me. "I'm hurt, darling, I really am." I could hear the menacing smile in his voice as he continued to whisper my name, his lips brushing over my bare shoulder, cold as ice.

"You haven't gotten rid of me quite yet, love." Suddenly his frigid hand jerked me to the side, flat on my back, staring up into the deep brown eyes that I had feared for so long - the ones that would frequent my nightmares, accusing, pained. Now they were cold and empty, his lips curved into a smirk as he pressed them to the base of my throat. "I'm still around, Maeve."

A burst of manic laughter escaped his lips. "Lindsey Welles," he whispered softly, running a hand along my arm to rest over my own. "Welles. Regina always had a fantastic sense of humour, didn't she?"

Cold kisses marched down my collarbone and I laid there, my eyes squeezed shut in terror, paralysed by my fear. "I'm back, darling. And I'm never going away."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hallo, my lovelies! :) I was tempted to keep this chapter for a little while longer for some more editing, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and really want you guys to see it now - so here! :D Hope you liked the update, and the Maeve/Simon fluff. :) There will be plenty more of that to come, because I won't be explaining their complicated situation for another three or four chapters. Enjoy the fluffy cuteness! **

**I really want to say thank you to MaliceInWonderland23 - your reviews honestly make me so freaking happy! :) Sorry about the economics class incident, although I'm glad you thought it was funny, 'cause I had so much fun writing that bit. ;) And a thank you to the Guest review - "OMG Simon!" made me laugh so much because it reminded me how little y'all actually know about him. :D So thank you for reminding me to write a hell of a lot more for our secretly-evil-yet-currently-adorable friend. :)**

**This week's episode was so amazing - did everyone notice the Captain Swan going on?! - and I am so excited for the next one! At first I was worried about them bringing Frozen into the show, but they've pulled it off really well so far, and it was casted flawlessly. :) **

**Next update will be soon, and there will be a lot of incidents and escapades for our ex-assassin that have no impact on the overall plot but are there simply to build relationships and provide adorkable humour! :D Seriously, though, there are going to be a ton of Maeve/Ruby/Belle friendship-centered misadventures coming up, so stay tuned for more insanity! :)**

**Until next time, ducklings! **

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	27. Angry, Meet Vicky

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or anything except Maeve and Simon. Enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

_"My mind was frozen in the blizzards,_

_my mind was frozen in your love, in your love._

_My mind was burning in the wildfire,_

_my mind was burning in your love, in your love."_

_- Pentatonix, Natural Disaster_

* * *

"So . . . how's life?"

Ruby shrugged indifferently before picking off a piece of my cranberry muffin. "It's alright; Granny's going kind of overboard with some of the normal-people stuff. I assume you've seen the decorations out front?"

I hid a grin behind my mug of tea. Ruby's grandmother had decorated the diner for Thanksgiving, which wouldn't be coming around for at least another month and a half: there were pumpkin stickers on the front windows, and gourds had been stuck along the wooden border for the patio. A cornucopia sat on one end of the counter, while a creepy-looking turkey cut-out was taped to the wall behind it.

"Yeah, I've noticed," I remarked, trying to sound casual about it. Ruby rolled her eyes and took another piece of my muffin.

"She's kind of been driving me nuts with the whole 'we're-all-normal-here' thing," she continued. "It's insane; we aren't an openly magical town, anyway." I glanced over to the corner, where a pair of twelve-year-old girls were levitating the tableware. More and more people were beginning to learn a bit of magic, just the fun stuff. I was willing to teach, but so far no one had asked.

"Yeah, not magical at all," I agreed sarcastically. Ruby sighed and leaned over the counter, looking to the two girls. "Don't spill that everywhere! It's hell to clean up and -" Suddenly, one of the girls jerked her hand to the side and the glass sugar-holder dropped, threatening to smash against the linoleum floor.

"Damnit!" I muttered, snapping my fingers; the sugar-holder stopped an inch before it hit the floor and then slowly lifted back up to the table, where it slid into place. The girl who had dropped it smiled sheepishly at Ruby and I before going back to bending spoons with her mind.

"We'd be so screwed if Mulder and Scully walked through that door right now," I said, and Ruby nodded in agreement before snatching another bit of muffin. I quickly pulled it out of her reach and glared at my friend. "God, get your own!" She stuck out her tongue defiantly as David walked inside.

"Ann, Yvonne," he said, nodding at the two girls; they both looked at each other, giggling like idiots and blushing profusely. I snorted at the sight: he was Prince Charming, after all, but I would never get used to the idea of David being the unrealistic crush of every middle-school girl in Storybrooke.

He strode over to the counter and took the seat next to mine, sliding a stack of manila folders over to me. "These are yours. Thanks for the research, but I'm not sure how much of it helps us to create a portal. Keep looking, though - I think we're getting close." His tone certainly did not exude the same confidence as his words; he sounded tired and as helpless as I felt.

"We'll get them back," I said quietly, and David nodded without a word. Ruby stared at the pair of us for a long moment before sighing loudly and saying, "In happier news, we have a fresh batch of cherry cruellers." I instantly sat up straight as Ruby placed one of the pastries on a napkin on the counter.

"It's beautiful," I said, inhaling - Granny did not mess around with butter and sugar, that was for sure. "I almost don't want to eat it, it's so perfect. It should probably be protected." That was when I took a massive bite.

"So much for protection," Ruby said with a laugh. "I'll be sure to keep the others hidden from you."

I nodded in agreement. "Probably for the best." Ruby offered one to David and he accepted, looking a bit uplifted than before. There's something about sugar that can do that to people.

"So, Maeve . . . there's kind of been something I've been meaning to ask you lately," Ruby said, and I was immediately on guard.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this question?"

"Because you're not," she said. "But you should. You remember the Harrington party? From when we were all cursed? Well, the brothers are thinking about having it now, in honour of the curse being broken! Isn't that fantastic? Maeve?"

I had dropped my crueller and was gaping up at Ruby in horror and surprise. "Oh, God no."

She nodded, grinning. "Yes."

David, meanwhile, was as confused as ever. "What's the Harrington party?"

I gently put my head in my hands and answered him through my fingers. "It's a party, thrown by the Harrington brothers every year, and it . . . oh, God no!" I looked up at Ruby, who was pouring someone a cup of coffee. "Ruby, no."

She just smiled serenely and handed Leroy a steaming mug before turning to look at me. "Maeve, yes. I already RSVP-ed, and told them that we're coming. Both of us. It's the Saturday after next, so find someone cute and find it soon."

David patted my shoulder sympathetically. "It's alright - you might even survive it."

I glanced over at him in pure horror. "No, Charming, I don't think I will."

* * *

I notched another arrow, aimed and fired; it slammed into the ground, two feet to the right of my target. Angrily, I notched yet another arrow.

"I take back everything I said about Lindsey being alright," I said in frustration as I missed the target for the sixth time. "I'm completely out of shape, and I can't fire an arrow. My last defence is my fingernails, and I doubt they'll do too much damage against a bloody dragon!"

"Maybe you should calm down," Ruby suggested, looking annoyed at my complaints. "It isn't as if Storybrooke has any dragons."

"Yet," I muttered, still angry. I notched my final arrow and aimed, this time taking a moment to gather myself and concentrate. Staring dead ahead I let the arrow fly; it arced through the air, embedding itself in the target. Not center, but on the target.

"Yes!" I said, jumping up and down in my excitement. Ruby snorted in amusement and I shot her a glare before going to retrieve my arrows. "I don't see you wielding any weapons."

"Because I don't need weapons," she said, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Claws and fangs, at the ready." I stiffened at the mention of her wolf side, bending over to pick up an arrow. After collecting the remainder of my weaponry, I walked back to where Ruby was leaning against a tree trunk, looking morose.

"You're not still on about that, are you?" I asked her quietly.

Ruby shrugged, not looking at me. "I don't know. Shouldn't I be? I've killed people because of the wolf. It _made_ me kill, spill blood; that's not nothing, Maeve." I could see a few tears rising in her eyes and felt a pang of pity that I instantly fought back; I would never pity someone as strong as Ruby. Never.

"As the wolf," I said instead. "You killed them as the wolf. That's different - you said it yourself, the wolf isn't you. You're not a killer, Ruby." _I am_. The words were not spoken but they hung in the air, almost a palpable thing. They would have been far heavier if they had left my lips, however, and I was grateful that Ruby did not finish the sentence for me.

Ruby cleared her throat loudly and picked up my discarded sword, which I could now wield with some difficulty after a week or so of practice. "We should go back. David's been working to find a portal non-stop, and he could probably use a break."

"Or at least a coffee," I added, fairly certain that David would rather have Regina rip out his heart than take a break from finding his wife and daughter. To be honest I wasn't sure how I had managed to pull myself away from the research, although I suspected it had something to do with Belle's disappearance. Things were happening in Storybrooke - things that needed to be dealt with. Things such as a convent of annoying fairies.

* * *

"Nova," I said, tossing the fairy a brief smile. She smiled back, always being one of the more accepting of her kind. Fairies were traditionally a secretive bunch, but Nova always managed to be the exception to their frustrating rules and regulations.

"Lady Scarlet," she said quietly, nodding to me.

"I actually go by Maeve now," I replied, leaning over the front desk of the convent. "If you don't mind." Nova nodded again, scribbling something in the guestbook.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked, shuffling a stack of papers around on the desk. She had become the convent's receptionist ever since the convent itself had become the fairies' unofficial do-gooder headquarters. The entire building had been refitted on the inside to accommodate a nunnery of magical beings: there was a room for fairy dust and magical items, an entire corridor dedicated to fairy training, and the basement was being facilitated to hold magical prisoners in case of emergency.

"Yes, actually," I said, pulling a folded piece of paper from my back pocket. "David sent me over and said to give you this. He asked that the message be passed on to Blue." I crinkled my nose in disdain and Nova giggled quietly.

"Miss Scarlet," she said. "Blue may not be the most - well, warm of fairies, but you should give her a chance."

I sighed. "Sorry, darlin', but that isn't likely to happen."

"Because you're stubborn, or because you don't possess the ability to forgive?"

I whirled around and glared at Blue, who had appeared from nowhere - magical beings tended to do that fairly often. She was still dressed in her nun get-up, which I mostly preferred to her previous outfits - there had been too much lace and embroidery to focus on anything but the hideous gowns. She watched me coldly as I turned around entirely to face her and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Mostly the first one," I replied casually. "Although you aren't the first person to accuse me of the second." Blue scoffed slightly before regarding Nova behind me.

"Nova, why did you let her in here?" she asked, her voice full of reproach. "Do you have any idea who you've just allowed entrance to the -"

"The nunnery?" I asked sarcastically. "God, Blue, calm yourself. I'm here on Charming's orders." Then I remembered the note and turned around for a moment to pluck the piece of paper up from Nova's desk. I handed it to Blue, who was still glaring at me. "That's a message from David. Enjoy."

I began to walk out of the convent when Blue's voice interrupted me. "Perhaps even the most cowardly of half-breeds can redeem themselves - although it is debatable with this one."

My hands curled tightly into fists by my sides as I whipped around, fury filling every inch of me. Blue was standing there by the desk, looking at Nova, who was watching me worriedly as I stalked back towards the Blue Fairy. She glanced over at me just as I slapped her squarely across the face.

Blue held a hand to her cheek in shock, gasping. "How dare you lay a hand on a fairy?!" she exclaimed, scandalised. I would have laughed at her expression if I hadn't been suppressing the urge to murder her. "Only someone from your mother -"

"Shut up," I said, my voice brimming with anger. "You do not get to talk about my mother. You do not get to act superior towards her, or, for that matter, towards me." My eyes narrowed as I glared at Blue. "If you knew anything about my mother, you pathetic, useless bitch, you would know that my mother was worth a hundred of you." Somehow I couldn't yell at her; this was too private, too intense for yelling. "She was not a coward, and neither am I, so I suggest that you get that damned idea out of your head, or I will get rid of it for you."

And with that I stalked out of the convent, calling over my shoulder, "Watch out, bug! I may be on Charming's side, but that does not mean I am on yours!"

* * *

"You probably shouldn't have yelled at her."

"I didn't yell at her!" I said defensively, frowning up at Ruby from my seat at the diner's counter. "I talked to her -"

"Incredibly disrespectfully," Ruby added, and I scowled. "It's the truth, Maeve. You kind of pissed her off. Blue, leader of the fairies. What were you two even arguing about?"

I shrugged, not wanting to delve into those matters. Everything between Blue and I was touchy subject, and I preferred not to split open that hornet's nest. "It was nothing - she just ticked me off. A lot."

Ruby nodded, and I could tell she didn't buy my lame excuse for a moment; but instead of pressing me further, she simply placed a cup of tea on the counter in front of me with her lips pursed thoughtfully and flounced away, her heels clacking on the linoleum floor of Granny's diner.

"Maeve?" I glanced up to see Belle French climbing into the seat next to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back, although there was something troubled in her intense blue gaze.

"You alright?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just - it's Rumple." I shifted, uncomfortable. Belle was friendly and I might even consider us something close to friends. But talking to her about romantic troubles - especially ones regarding Rumple-freaking-stiltskin - was not something I would enjoy spending my afternoons doing.

"What did he do now?" I asked against every desire to run in the opposite direction.

Belle sighed heavily. "He just - well, I've been trying to keep away from him. I want to find my own path, and I don't want to be with someone who is only going to be too cowardly to be honest with me about his own feelings." I nodded absently, resisting the instinct to gag. Rumple, honest? And about feelings? Belle was sweet, but she was also dreaming if she really thought that would ever become a reality.

"But then he gave me this, and I just - I don't know. I saw him when I was there, and everything is just so complicated now." She sighed again.

"Hold up - what did he give you?" I asked curiously. Belle reached into a pocket and produced a key: small, plain and silver, there was a tag taped to it that read 'library' in rushed handwriting. My eyebrows flew to my hairline as I read the tag.

"Library?" I asked. Belle nodded. "You're the town's librarian. You have access to all of the records . . ." A grin began to inch across my face as Ruby returned with an iced tea for Belle. "What's up?"

"Ruby," I said, wrapping my arms around Belle's shoulders. "She has a key to the library. She has access to the private records. You have officially been replaced as my best friend."

Ruby rolled her eyes and swatted me with a dishcloth. "Love you, too, Maeve," she said, her voice dripping irony, before turning back to another customer. Belle carefully unwrapped my arms from around her and smiled at me

"You want to come take a look at the records?" she asked, and I slid out of my seat and nodded enthusiastically, genuinely excited for the first time in days.

"To the library!"

* * *

"_What about that one? It seems like a fantastic target."_

_Simon and I were standing among the trees that sheltered us, watching as yet another royal carriage sped by, the horses clopping gracefully along the road that cut straight through the forest. _

_I tilted my head to one side, studying the carriage: a royal crest, but not one I recognised. It was polished and gilded, like most of them, and even the damn horses seemed elegant. I suppressed a snort at that thought – horses were not supposed to be elegant._

"_That one," I said finally, nodding with a small smile playing on my lips. "Definitely that one."_

_Simon grinned devilishly at me just before we began our hastened descent towards the road, our vantage point at the top of a small hill being a two minute sprint from the path. The carriage was moving oddly slow, but I did not for a moment consider that to be suspicious. _

_I was an idiot._

_We used our usual tactic: Simon cuts out in front, quickly taking out the coachman and stopping the horses. Then I would come from behind, handling anyone who was inside the vehicle; after all, people are far easier to rob when they're dead. And at first our plan worked perfectly: Simon came out front, shooting an arrow straight through the coachman's chest. His aim left much to be desired, but it was good enough to be effective._

_However, the moment I wrenched open the door to the carriage, a sword was leveled with my head. I backed up hurriedly, a hand already on one of my daggers, but my attacker moved quickly as well; he slammed the hilt of his sword into the side of my skull and I tumbled to the ground, pain lancing through my head. I muttered a string of furious curses, but the touch of cold metal to my throat silenced me. _

"_Who the hell are you?" I demanded, wincing; yelling made my head throb. There was a harsh laugh before something connected with my stomach, hard: a foot. The man had kicked me onto my back and he pressed his boot onto my chest, pinning me to the ground. _

"_Queen's guard," he said nastily, leaning over me to sneer. "She knows you're in here, knows these forests well enough. The Queen wants you dead, Lady Scarlet." His horrible smile vanished, replaced by an angry leer as the hilt of his sword slammed into my skull again. My vision blurred, and I dropped to the ground, my cheek pressed against the cold dirt. Where was Simon?_

_Suddenly the soldier's boot vanished from my chest; I heard a yell of surprise but it was distant, as if I was underwater. Black spots still danced across my line of sight as I carefully sat up, a hand pressed to the back of my head. "Simon?"_

_Voices came from the other side of the carriage, whispering intently. I stumbled to my feet, the world around me tilting, as I caught the words "nearly killed her" and "no, not yet". "Simon?" Everything spun wildly around me and I slipped, stopping inches from the ground by a pair of arms that wrapped around my shoulders and my lower back. _

"_I'm here," he said, gently lowering me to the road. I leaned my head back against his knees, closing my eyes to dispel the dizziness. "I've got you, love."_

* * *

"Problem! Horrible, horrible problem!" I glanced up as Leroy sprinted into the library, his face beet red and full of terror.

"It's terrible, it's bad, awful, horrible -" he panted, stopping in front of the desk I sat at, hands propped on his knees as he caught his breath, still muttering the words. I rolled my eyes and kicked him sharply in the shin from underneath the desk.

"Enough with the damn adjectives. What's horrible?!" I demanded. Leroy glared at me for a moment before replying, which made me tempted to kick him again. "Do I need to ask again, or are you going to stop glaring and TELL ME?!"

"Charming sent me," he said, a tad out of breath. "He said you have to do a sweep of the town, and he said to do it fast and do it armed." There was a pause as Leroy sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "He said - you're not going to believe this - but he said there's a zombie running around Storybrooke."

I stared at Leroy for a second, certain that he was joking. But when the dwarf said nothing to contradict his statement, I knew he was being completely serious.

"A zombie?" I asked in disbelief. "A zombie? Charming said that there's a zombie running around town?" Leroy nodded solemnly, and I let out a sigh of annoyance. "Bloody hell - we live in Storybrooke, not freaking Halloweentown! A zombie . . ." That spark of curiosity had started, despite the ridiculous premise of Leroy's claim; and once lit, there was never much I could do to contain that spark.

"What's wrong?" Belle came striding into the room carrying an armful of books, her blue eyes worried. "Is everything alright? I heard shouting."

I shook my head, already standing and pulling on my jacket. "Nothing to worry about - zombie running amok, Charming sent for me to do a sweep, it's probably nothing. Just in case, though, lock yourself in the office and wait for me to come back and get you." And with that I hurried from the building with Leroy by my side, leaving Belle standing there with her Jules Verne and an expression of pure shock.

"David put a few weapons in the trunk," Leroy said, gesturing to his beat-up truck. I nodded and pulled it open: inside, David had left my own weaponry, ready to use. Still not comfortable with my bow and arrow quite yet, I pulled out my sword and daggers. Unsheathing the former and tucking the latter into the waistband of my jeans, I jumped into the passenger side of Leroy's truck and tried to ignore the overwhelming stench of cigars.

"Let's start where it was last seen," I instructed as Leroy turned the key in the ignition. "Take us there, and I'll start combing the area on foot. Did David say what this zombie looked like?"

"I don't know, like a walking corpse?!" Leroy exclaimed as he sped down Main Street, nearly running over a few pedestrians. I waved awkwardly at them through the window while an elderly lady whacked the truck's side with her cane angrily.

"Look, Angry -" I began.

"It's Grumpy."

I paused. Shit. "Um . . . you know what, Leroy?" There, that was good enough. "I need to know what the freaking flesh-eating, people-terrorizing zombie looks like in order to kill it! So 'a walking corpse' may not be good enough, considering the residents of this bloody town."

Leroy shot me an annoyed glance. "He didn't say. I have no idea who it is or what he looks like, but I know it's a guy. That good enough?"

I sighed in frustration. "Fine. Just drive, alright? Preferably fast."

"Got it." Leroy sped up, headed around the corner and pulled up at the curb out front of the hospital.

"Where's the witness?"

* * *

I could not stop giggling.

Dr Whale was sitting on the edge of a hospital cot in a secluded room, his gray eyes furious as he watched me suppress my tenth fit of laughter. "What is it now, Lady Scarlet?"

I sighed, still smiling. "It's Maeve, first off. And - well, c'mon!" I giggled again, and Whale gave a disgusted sigh while Leroy stood next to me awkwardly. "It - you lost - it was - oh, dear God. Does this zombie have a street address? 'Cause I'd love to send him flowers for this one."

I gestured to Whale's arm - or rather lack of one. The creature had, in its attempt to escape the hospital, ripped off the doctor's appendage. The weirdo had decided to store the dismembered limb inside a small cooler that was now resting on a nearby table.

And I found all of this hilarious.

"Remind me again what is so funny about me losing a limb?" Whale demanded, his cheeks flushing in frustration. "Because I really don't see the funny side to any of this." Leroy nodded in agreement, and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stem my laughter.

"You lost your arm to a flesh-eating creature that you created," I said, attempting to hide a smile of amusement. "This is - God, it's brilliant! On top of the fact that you lost a limb, you also can't murder me one-handed. So that's just sort of a plus for me." I smirked at the doctor, who reached to grab me with his remaining hand. I stepped just out of his reach with a grin plastered to my face, and Whale cursed at me instead.

"Alright, on the serious side of things," Leroy cut in, clearly fed up with our bickering and my preposterous giggle fits. "You said you created this zombie thing?"

Whale nodded, and I raised an eyebrow. "And I thought you didn't stand a chance with that experiment." He scowled angrily at me, and Leroy tossed me a questioning glance.

"What experiment?"

I looked at Whale expectantly. "Are you telling him, or will I?"

When Whale said nothing I rolled my eyes and turned to look at Leroy, who appeared thoroughly confused. "Grumpy, meet Victor. You'll know him better as Doctor Victor Frankenstein." Leroy's eyebrows flew to his hairline in surprise.

"Frankenstein?" he repeated, astonished. He looked from Whale to me and back again, as if waiting for one of us to laugh and deny that statement; when neither of us did, Leroy shook his head tiredly and muttered something about not being paid enough.

"I told you we were living in Halloweentown," I said, and Whale's lips tightened in annoyance at my comment. "Next time it'll be a mob chasing after Dracula, and after that we'll need Ruby to track down the bloody Wolf Man."

"Could we get back to the topic at hand?" Whale demanded, clearly offended.

I nodded. "Sure - the topic being how freaking bizarre your existence is. You aren't hiding the Mummy in your apartment are you? Or even the Lake Monster? I'm not here to judge, Frankenstein."

Whale swiped at me again, and I snorted. "Cute. Nice try, Vicky, but you'll have to do better." The doctor glowered at me and I simply smiled cheerfully as Leroy tried to smother a laugh with a cough. "So now you're on her side?" he demanded of the dwarf. Leroy shrugged indifferently. "I'm just the audience, Whale."

"So, about the zombie, Vicky," I said, opting to ignore Whale's look of murderous rage. "Any idea where it went? Where it was going? Anything?" Whale said nothing, and I sighed in annoyance. "Can you at least tell me who he was?"

The doctor glanced at me warily before saying, "His name was Daniel. He - he was a, uh, friend of Regina's. Her fiancée." I frowned, confused. Whale noticed the reaction and quickly added, "Don't ask me, I don't know the whole story. Just - it was her old fiancée."

"So, this Daniel guy . . . he would be going where exactly?" I prompted, and Whale shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

I nodded absently, studying him for a moment; he seemed to be telling the truth. "Alright, then. Well, we'll leave you to your arm," I said, gesturing to the cooler with a small laugh of delight. "And be off. C'mon, Angry."

"It's Grumpy!"

"Does it look like I care?"

* * *

"Cocoa, kid?"

Henry and I were sitting in Granny's at the counter, a mug of hot chocolate and a mug of tea sitting in front of us. He hadn't touched his cocoa at all, whereas my tea was half-finished already, which worried me a bit. Although, considering that the psychotic zombie running amok had nearly murdered him, I understood his mood.

"Not right now," he muttered, resting his chin on his folded arms on the counter, staring into space. Thinking, probably. The kid did a lot of thinking for an eleven-year-old boy - having fairy tale characters for relatives sort of helped with that, I supposed.

I sighed softly and pushed the mug closer to him. "There's whipped cream. And cinnamon." Usually, that would have gotten the kid to start rambling on about the fantastic-ness of cinnamon on hot chocolate and how amazing it was and why it was superior to non-cinnamon-topped hot chocolate and an entire one-sided conversation that could go on for almost ten minutes straight. But he didn't even look at the drink.

"Not hungry," he mumbled.

"It's hot chocolate - you never need to be hungry for hot chocolate," I retorted, sipping my tea. Ruby had chosen a plain earl gray that calmed me down a fair amount, although I was still pretty frustrated with the kid. "Look, Henry, I get it."

"Get what?" he asked morosely.

"Get the fact that your adoptive-mother's ex-fiancee came back from the dead because of Dr. Frankenstein and attempted to strangle you because he thought you were the person who murdered him." I paused, my brow furrowing. "Okay, so I don't have personal experience with this situation exactly, but I've seen some pretty crazy stuff, alright? I've nearly died on several hundred occasions - sometimes because I was being stupid, but mostly because somebody else wanted me dead. So yeah, kid, I get it. And it sucks and makes you want to contemplate your own mortality and the inevitability of death. But you know what doesn't suck? Hot chocolate. So try and focus on that for now, and wait a few years until you get to the death bit - it's honestly not as enlightening as it seems."

There was a long moment of silence in which Henry stared up at me in what I assumed to be an expression of awe. But then he said, "You're weird," and took a sip of cocoa.

I nodded in agreement, wrapping my chilled fingers around my mug of tea. "I know."

* * *

**Author's Note: Bonjour my ducklings! :) Sorry it took longer to update, but I may begin limiting the chapters to once or twice a week now. School is taking up more and more time, and I am also taking some time to write a) my personal stuff and b) some other fanfics that I want to start creating plots etc. for that I will post in future. :) So, yeah . . . We Are Broken is not by any means taking a backseat (I'm still very attached to this story) but the updates won't come as frequently as they used to. :)**

**Hope y'all enjoyed this installment, though! There is going to be a whole lot of Simon in the next two to three chapters – the one following this will be almost entirely focused on him – so prepare for tons of fluff and just a dash of YA-friendly smut (like, Mortal Instruments kind of thing – kissing and stuff, but nothing beyond that). Also, the feud between Maeve and Blue will be further explained in the next chapter. **

**Thank you to MaliceInWonderland23 – your reviews are honestly so wonderful, so thank you thank you thank you! :D And a thank you to FutureOlympian as well; I also cannot wait until Maeve regains her mystical powers and badassery, 'cause it is so much fun to write about. ;) Soon to come, actually, is some wickedly awesome stuff for our sarcastic heroine: let's say that when Cora comes to Storybrooke, she should watch her back. :)**

**Until next time, lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	28. Simon Welles

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, only my own OCs. :) Hope y'all like this chapter! **

* * *

_"My body was shaking in your earthquakes,_

_you had my body quaking from your love._

_My life was drowning in tsunamis,_

_you pulled me under with your love."_

_- Pentatonix, Natural Disaster _

* * *

"More research?" Ruby asked as I plopped down onto my usual barstool beside the counter at Granny's, tossing a small stack of manila folders onto the counter before me.

I nodded, frowning at my own messy handwriting; I wasn't certain if I could read even half of my notes. They had been written at around two in the morning, by a caffeine-less, exhausted and slightly-delirious Maeve, and most of the scribbled 'research' looked like the ramblings of a madwoman.

"Looks like gibberish," Ruby said, crinkling her eyebrows together in confusion as she leaned over the counter to get a better view of the research.

I nodded again. "Or Yiddish, maybe. Although considering I'm not fluent . . ." I gave up halfway through the joke, too tired to concentrate on anything remotely sarcastic or humorous. "Ruby, I'm too tired for sarcasm - one of my few natural talents. I need tea, and I need it now." She nodded abruptly and disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve the ambrosia that would awaken my inner sarcasm monster.

Ruby returned mere minutes later to find me half-asleep, head drooping over the counter, my eyes closed. She shook me and I started awake, confused, and toppled off of the barstool. "Damn it."

"Sorry," she said, wincing and trying to disguise a laugh. "But the tea has arrived." She slid a steaming mug towards me and I accepted it, draining half of it in one long sip that left third-degree burns along the inside of my oesophagus.

"Hallelujah," I muttered, my eyes watering as I coughed and sputtered a bit.

"So, what were you researching?" she asked, bending over to see my notes again. I shrugged, pushing them closer to her.

"Does it matter? The notes don't make any damn sense." I paused to take another sip of tea, rubbing stray sleep from my eyes. "Same stuff, though: how to create a magical portal that can transcend realms. . The internet can tell me that dancing is prohibited in Missouri and show me cute pictures of Fennec foxes, but it cannot tell me how to build a magical vortex into another dimension." I glared at my phone, which sat on the pile of research. "You have failed me, internet."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Is the tea helping at all? 'Cause you sound like you usually sound at around four am without any sleep."

"Immensely intelligent and self-aware?"

"Kind of delirious, and full of weird crap."

"Same difference."

She sighed, pouring a cup of coffee and adding several generous spoonfuls of sugar before passing it to me. "Here - actual caffeine. You have to ditch the tea for now."

I scowled but complied, quickly handing Rub the now-empty mug of tea and clutching the coffee, which still smelled awful. I had never liked coffee much, but she was right about my desperate need of caffeine. Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.

"Are you ready?" Ruby asked, watching me with a huge grin. I furrowed my brow, confused. "Ready for what?"

She rolled her eyes. "The party, obviously." When I scowled and started muttering about how horrible and unfair the universe was, Ruby simply covered my mouth with her hand to shut me up. "You're coming - no ifs, ands or buts, alright?" I was tempted to argue, but I knew Ruby would never take no for an answer.

"So, you're coming with me today to pick out dresses, right?"

I began softly banging my forehead against the counter in despair.

* * *

_"Where are we going?" I asked, giggling and pulling at the fingers that covered my eyes; but they remained there, their owner's grip a strong one. "God, Simon just tell me!"_

_The hands vanished from over my eyes and suddenly I was blinking in blinding sunlight. I felt Simon's arms wrap around my waist from behind, his chin coming to rest on my shoulder as he pressed an icy kiss to the skin just behind my ear. _

_"Ta-da."_

_We were standing on the edge of a stone ledge, a waterfall tumbling down around us in a shimmering curtain. Everything was awash in soft blueish light, and I felt a thrill of amazement as I stood so close to the drop; it must have been nearly a hundred feet. _

_Turning around in Simon's arms, I pressed a kiss to his lips that sent shivers crawling up my spine. I had come to take pleasure in those shivers, which had unnerved me at first. I was unused to the idea of being wanted, I presumed. I had never voiced those feelings to Simon, though; I didn't need him worrying about my own ridiculous doubts. After all, he was Simon Welles: kind, gentle, perfect. I had never thought I would use that word to describe anyone, ever, but there it was - he was perfect. _

_He smiled against my mouth. "Does this mean you like it?"_

_I nodded, giggling; that was another thing. No one had ever made me giggle before. Laugh, snort, smirk, yes. But giggling? Never. "It means I absolutely like it. It's beautiful!" I glanced back over my shoulder, staring into the wall of rushing water. Simon pulled my face back towards him, his fingers cold where they touched my cheek, and kissed me again. We did quite a lot of kissing, I had noticed._

_"Where are we, anyway?" I asked quietly after a few minutes._

_He sighed. "It's - well, it's where I grew up. It's home." Simon smiled down at me, his brown eyes brimming with something that I took to be happiness. "Used to be anyway."_

_"What happened?" I asked, worried; I typically assumed the worst, that everyone had some horrible past that they kept secret from the world the way I did. But this was Simon - the idea of someone doing something to hurt him infuriated me. _

_"Well, what happened," he said, a smirk curving his lips as he pressed another kiss to my forehead. "Is that I found you, Maeve."_

* * *

"What do we think?"

I glanced up from my seat on the floor of the dressing room, straining to keep from drifting off. The coffee had helped wake me up, but staying awake was another problem entirely - and the stupid shop Ruby had dragged me into didn't allow tea in the dressing room.

My friend was twirling slowly in a shimmery lavender dress that looked fantastic on her; although perhaps I was incapable of critiquing clothes properly, considering that I thought the past five dresses looked fantastic on her, but Ruby had almost immediately discarded them.

I stumbled to my feet, ignoring the hostile look I was receiving from the woman sorting through a nearby rack of clothing; everyone we had seen in the shop had been tossing me nasty glances. Me being me, of course, I had probably killed one of their coworkers or something ages ago and forgotten about it, so I had opted to ignore them all.

"I don't know," I said absently, studying the dress on Ruby. "It looks great, but -"

"But you've said that about the last eight dresses in a row," she finished for me with a laugh. I nodded, and she laughed again. "I should teach you way more about clothes, Maeve - we do have quite a few more choices for it in this world."

I took a cautious step backwards, holding up my hands as if to ward off an attacker. "Ruby Lucas, if you even consider teaching me anything about fashion, I will personally destroy you in the most painful way possible." Ruby smirked and waltzed back into the curtained area of the dressing room to change, clearly not satisfied with making me sit through eight dresses in a row.

"If you're trying to punish me for something," I called to her. "You could always just torture me physically. I'd take a good beating over dress-shopping any day."

"Well, that isn't very fairy-like," said a disgusted voice from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, annoyance already flooding through me as I saw Blue standing there, a long cobalt gown in her arms.

"Excuse me?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That statement," Blue said, raising a disdainful eyebrow. "It wasn't very fairy-like. If you're going to use the magic you inherited from your mother, then try not to disgrace fairy-kind as much as she has."

I narrowed my eyes at her, and could hear Ruby rushing about in the curtained area, trying to get out of there faster. "What exactly are you implying?"

"That perhaps you ought to invest in some etiquette worthy of being a fairy's child - even the most insolent of half-breeds can achieve that." These words heightened my rage, making my hands curl into tight fists and my vision narrow as I glared solely at Blue.

"Etiquette? Like what, respecting you? Because if so, YourUnexcellency, I would rather be a barbaric, insolent half-breed with no civility." Blue flushed angrily, but I wasn't finished. "Screw off, bug - I might be clipping your wings next time."

"How dare you -?" Blue began just as Ruby burst out of the dressing room, her expression worried as she looped her arm through mine and quickly marched me out of the shop, dropping her rejected dresses on a rack on the way out. When we reached the brisk air and sidewalk, Ruby turned and gave me an exasperated look.

"What?"

"Clip your wings? Really?" she said, sighing heavily; I was frustrating her to be sure. "Maeve, the next time you and Blue meet, I doubt either of you are going to be leaving the encounter with vital signs!" Ruby rubbed her forehead tiredly, as though to ward off an impending headache.

"Well then, tell her not to be such an infuriating bitch, and I'll behave myself next time," I retorted, annoyed. Did Ruby not realise how often Blue attacked me with the 'half-breed' crap? Every time I saw the goddamn leader of fairies I received another reminder that, while I was powerful, I would never be her. I would never be pure or truly magical; always a half-breed, always the bastard child of a disgraced fairy who was hated by her own kind enough to exile her for eternity.

"You know what you two need?" Ruby asked as we began walking towards Granny's - her shift began in ten minutes, the dress-searching-escapade taking place during her lunch break. "You need a truce. Something to settle things."

"Settle the score," I said quietly, mulling the words over for a moment. "Something to settle the scores once and for all." A smile crept slyly across my face as I continued. "Revenge."

"No! No, no, no - not revenge!" Ruby argued, shaking her head and looking rather despaired by my suggestion. "Not at all what I was getting at, Maeve! Not even close."

"Revenge, though," I repeated, my mind racing with the possibilities. "Nothing lethal, I promise - just something effective. Something . . . magical."

Ruby sighed, closing her eyes in defeat. "I was not a part of anything beyond this point, understood?"

* * *

_I shot up from my spot beside the crackling campfire, my heart racing with fear as I listened to the crunching of twigs and leaves in the distance: footsteps. Not many, but one set of footsteps was enough to make me worry. I glanced around the camp and felt another pang of anxiety; Simon was nowhere to be seen._

_"Where the hell is he?" I muttered nervously as the footsteps grew louder. Clutching my sword desperately, I raised it to strike whoever came out of the bush; a figure appeared and I swung the blade. Immediately they dropped to the ground, ducking underneath the sword before darting back to their feet and hurrying towards me._

_"Maeve? Maeve, it's me!" Simon was standing before me, his eyes brimming with confusion and worry, shaking his head. "It's me, be quiet! I think I saw some of King George's men back there. They probably haven't caught my trail -" He was cut off by a sharp zing as an arrow buried itself in the tree trunk behind him. _

_"Or maybe they have," I remarked drily. _

_Simon's eyes were wide with panic as the first soldier - an archer, by the looks of him - emerged from the woods with his weapon aimed straight for us. "Run."_

_I did not hesitate to comply; hurrying into the forest, my feet flying across the ground as fast as they could without snagging on any tree roots and without me crashing into any trees. I could hear Simon sprinting behind me, telling me to keep moving, keep moving, we were almost out of range. An arrow whizzed past my head and I felt it catch a lock of my hair as it passed and stuck straight up in the ground twenty feet in front of me. _

_"Nearly there!" Simon yelled from behind me. The calls of the various soldiers could be heard in the distance, but I opted to ignore the sound of our impending doom and focused on keeping my pace, running as quickly as possible and gasping for breath that was quickly expelled from my lungs, despite my desire to retain the oxygen. _

_"Stop!" Simon was suddenly shouting behind me, and I glanced behind my shoulder for just long enough to trip over a fallen branch; I went tumbling forwards, rolling uncontrollably along the leaf-strewn ground, trying to pull in air as scratches appeared along my arms and legs from the twigs and nettles. _

_"Maeve, stop!" Simon was heading forwards, even faster than before, his expression terrified. I was still skidding along the ground, a few feet from the point of my fall, shaking my head to clear my white-spotted vision. "Maeve!" Simon's ice-cold fingers wrapped tightly around my wrists as he pulled me towards him, hauling me to my feet._

_"Are you okay?" he whispered, panting a bit, one hand on the back of my neck as he studied me carefully. "God, Maeve," he continued, glancing behind me fearfully. I turned around and sucked in a sharp gasp: where there was forest, the ground dropped off suddenly, creating cliff that was practically vertical. _

_"Damn," I muttered, a bit breathless. "That -"_

_"It would've killed you," Simon finished, still watching me. I turned back around to face him completely and looked him right in the eye._

_"Simon," I said intently, putting my hands in his. "I am completely fine. I could've died, but I didn't. You -" I paused, uncomfortable with the next sentence. "You saved my life." There it was. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant to say, just odd; I had never had to say anything of the sort before. No one had ever really been there to say it to._

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?" By that point Ruby didn't sound particularly angry, just exasperated, as she tossed me a reproachful glance from behind the counter at Granny's while handing me a mug of tea.

"Nothing much," I remarked vaguely, setting the tea down next to my pile of research materials. "Just, you know, some reading. Casual, not-at-all-important reading." I paused, looking sideways at my friend. "But don't interrupt me, it's actually kind of important."

Ruby sighed and then looked at the book I was reading, her eyebrows crinkling together in confusion and obvious concern. "What exactly are you reading?" she asked, although she sounded as if she honestly did not want to know.

I shrugged. "Just reading, like I . . . stuff."I couldn't lie to Ruby, it seemed. Like Gold, there was something about her that made the idea of lying to her face seem wrong - although it had more to do with our friendship than my reluctance to lie to Rumple.

Ruby stared down at the book, still concerned; I understood. I was flipping through an old, dusty, leather-bound tome that was written in a language far from English. There were also a few sketches of mysterious plants and nasty-looking creatures that didn't really help my case, either.

"Um . . . it's nothing," I repeated lamely. In fact, the book was very much not nothing: I had nicked it from Izzy's personal collection of spellbooks and various magical lexicons that I was strictly forbidden to even set foot within ten feet of. Naturally it had taken me a mere ten minutes to retrieve three different volumes from the locked trunk in my aunt's bedroom, which she kept inside a locked cabinet, behind a cloaking spell which, when taken down, activated a wall of fire that only burned human flesh, leaving the room undamaged.

So maybe the book was a tad more dangerous than I let on.

"This doesn't have anything to do with your revenge on Blue, does it?" Ruby asked hesitantly. I opened my mouth to deny that suggestion but soon closed it awkwardly, knowing that denying it was useless. Ruby closed her eyes for a moment, looking incredibly tired, before saying, "Maeve, you cannot use Dark magic on the Blue Fairy because she pissed you off a few times."

I was outraged. "Pissed me off a few times?! Seriously? All she has ever done is talk about my mother as though she was some pathetic, useless, disgraced outcast who deserved what she got!" My voice choked a bit on the last word and I took a quick moment to compose myself before continuing. "She is constantly acting like a superior, infuriating bitch who either wants me dead or exiled the way she cast my mother out of her home!" I was breathless from my tirade, panting a bit as I stared up at my best friend in frustration. "I have had it up to the damn ozone layer with this useless twit demanding that I pay her the respect she has never earned."

There was a long moment of silence as Ruby digested my sudden burst of manic fury. Then she said, "So . . . what're you going to do to her?" Once again, I suspected that she didn't really want to know.

"Not sure yet," I said, turning the page again and skimming the contents of the next chapter: mostly it talked about turning people into various forms of rodent. "I suppose I can't turn her into a rat, all things considered," I muttered spitefully. "And female dogs are out, too." Ruby rolled her eyes before she moved to stack up the dishes from one of the tables.

"What about female dogs?" asked a voice from beside me. I glanced over to see Belle taking the seat, her blue eyes worried as she regarded me.

"Nothing much," I replied, shrugging. "Just reading one of Izzy's old spellbooks to see if there's anything helpful in the way of taking my revenge out on Blue." Belle's eyebrows shot up in astonishment at this explanation.

"Revenge on the Blue Fairy?" she asked. "Why?"

"'Cause they have a terribly complicated history," Ruby said, coming up to us and sliding an iced tea towards Belle. "Blue's always hated her. Calls her half-breed, 'cause Maeve here is the daughter of an exiled fairy." I mock-bowed, and Belle glanced over me curiously. "They've had a childish rivalry –''

"Rational and mutual hatred," I corrected her, to which Ruby raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, a mutual hatred."

"Anyway, they've been mortal enemies or whatever for ages," she concluded. "It's pretty annoying actually, because whenever I want to go out somewhere and Blue's there – well, things get kind of out of hand."

"Out of hand?" Belle echoed, a bit of concern coloring her voice.

"It was nothing," I said.

"You pushed her through a window!" Ruby argued.

"That was one bloody time!"

"What about the time you set fire to her dress?"

"That was an accident!"

"And the time you stole her wand and hid it with the bridge trolls?"

"It's not like anyone got hurt . . ."

"Alright," Belle interrupted our argument after a minute, holding up her hands and looking as though we might have told her far more than she really wanted to know. "You've, um . . . well, I get the idea. They hate each other – that was definitely understood."

"Fantastic," I said, beaming at her. "Because I may need your help to enact my brilliant plan of vengeance."

* * *

The floor of the fairies' convent creaked as I tip-toed carefully over it, darting across the entrance hall and towards the back staircase, where I would be able to sneak up to the bedrooms. I glanced at the clock ticking away on the wall: 2:34. All the fairies would hopefully be asleep by that point, although I had nicked a pouch of poppy dust from my aunt's trunk of buried secrets just in case.

Scurrying over to the staircase and slowly, silently opening the door, I slipped onto the landing before beginning the trek up. The convent's emergency staircase was in a bare, cinderblock area of the building, the walls dusty and the air cold. I shivered as I hiked up the steps, chills running up and down my spine.

I suddenly turned around sharply, staring into the depths of the stairwell that led down to the convent's basement. The stairs disappeared into shadows, and I shook my head to sort of clear away any suspicion. I needed to stay focused on the task at hand. But the moment I turned back around to keep walking I heard it again: a sharp ping, like someone tapping hollow metal. I glanced back down the stairs cautiously.

"Who's there?" I whispered into the darkness; nothing answered, and I wasn't certain whether to be relieved or worried by that thought. Something was, after all, definitely down there.

"Whoever you are," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "I'm armed, and I - just stay away from me." Nothing answered again, and I began my ascent once again. The ping sounded again, this time even closer to me. I quickened my pace and the pings began to come faster and closer, as if chasing me up the stairs. I sprinted until I reached the second-floor landing and whipped around, staring into the empty shadows before me.

I was about to say something else when a voice whispered behind me, "About time."

I bit back a shriek of fear and surprise as I whirled around, coming face to face with a pair of very-familiar brown eyes and a smirk that made my heart ache.

"Simon."

"Lady Scarlet," he said, nodding ironically towards me. He had his hands clasped behind his back and was now circling me slowly, watching me with an expression of twisted amusement. "Or Maeve, if you prefer. It's been a while, hasn't it, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me that," I hissed, although my voice lacked the conviction that command depended upon. I couldn't bring myself to spit that sort of venomous hatred towards Simon, no matter what he had done to me before.

"Alright, love," he said, his smirk growing; I noticed that same glint in his eyes that he used to get when we were tracking a particularly tempting treasure. "I have to say, these past few days have been difficult. Do you know how little you're left alone these days? Either it's that stupid slut - what's her name? Garnet or Diamond or -"

"Ruby," I said, anger coursing through me; but of course Simon wasn't quite done yet.

"Yes, Ruby - that's it. Either it's her, forcing you into those stupid outfits and dragging you to dates and parties and dumping all of her town-harlot gossip all over you, or it's that pretty little bookworm - Belle or whatever. The one who's been sleeping with the Dark One." Simon wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And I thought Pasiphae's little affair was awful." My hands curled into tight fists at this statement.

"You're always with your friends and that aunt of yours - Isadora. Haven't seen her in ages, Maeve. How is she? She always was an odd one: kind of batty is all." He waved a hand dismissively. "But I'm not here to talk about your poor choice in acquaintance. I'm here to talk about _you_." At the last word, Simon appeared behind me again, whispering the word into my ear. I shivered, although not from the cold.

"I haven't seen you since the asylum," he remarked, running a frigid fingertip along my cheek. "Been a while. I do hope all of your memories have come back, dear," he added thoughtfully. "Because I think we might be delving into some old stories today." The pinging had returned and was growing louder and louder, until I realised that it wasn't tapping at all: it was falling rain.

And I wasn't standing in the fairies' convent; I was standing in the woods, back home. Simon was standing in front of me now, watching me in amusement. The rain was soaking through everything, chilling me right done to the bone in moments. Simon smirked. "You recognise it?"

I glanced around and sucked in a sharp breath as I did recognise the place. "The last place we ever saw each other," I whispered in horror. I glanced back at Simon, who had a brilliant poker face. He was simply standing there, studying me with a mild curiosity, playing idly with his hands as I took in our sudden change in surroundings.

"Why are we here?" I asked, my voice stronger than I would have thought possible.

"I want you to do it."

Those words hit me horribly, like blows to the chest; my heart began aching again, in a nostalgic way that was both painful and wonderful. The feeling I had always gotten around Simon. I missed those days, missed that feeling. Wanted it back so badly it hurt.

"No." My reaction seemed obvious enough to me; Simon, however, was persistent.

"Do it," he coaxed, spreading his arms wide like wings. I felt something in my hand and looked down to see myself clutching a horribly familiar silver dagger. "Come on, love," Simon shouted, watching me with a manic grin. "You know you want to! You know it's for the best! That's what you said, isn't it? That it was for the best?!"

I was trembling all over now, my hand shaking so badly I wondered how I had not dropped the dagger. "No, I - I can't. Don't make me, please. Not again. Please, Simon."

"Do it, you pathetic coward!" he screamed, still grinning. "Do it, already! It didn't take you this long last time! Get on with it, you useless, horrible, selfish bitch! _Do it_! You know you want to - you wanted to before! Just -" Simon's words were cut short as he stumbled backwards, gripping the hilt of the dagger I had just plunged into his chest.

"You did it," he muttered, dropping to his knees. I was shaking my head fervently, mumbling 'no, no, no, god no, not again' over and over, but my chanting made no difference. Simon coughed, a splash of blood spattering the soaking leaves at his feet. "You did it to me." His eyes were growing distant, but he reached out and clutched my arm so tightly that I was certain he had bruised it.

"You killed me, Maeve. No one else - it was you. Your fault. It was always your fault." And with that, Simon fell back to the ground, his brown eyes glassy and empty.

I fell to my knees, trembling, and barely noticed for a few minutes that I was suddenly alone and kneeling in the stairwell of the fairies' convent again. I just stayed there for a few moments, hot tears sliding persistently down my cheeks.

"It was my fault," I whispered to the cold darkness around me.

* * *

_The firelight reflected off of his eyes, turning them from soft brown into a deep charcoal; his curly hair was damp from the riverwater we had just clambered out of, and his lips were curved into a crooked half-smile. It was Simon, simply sitting there on the stony ground of the beach, staring into the dying embers of a campfire, reveling in the relief of survival – and he was beautiful. _

"_See something you like?" I blushed slightly and was glad for the dying fire; he had caught me watching him, something I did not like to advertise. Advertising my affection for him felt strange, as if it were a possession on display for everyone to admire. But that wasn't at all what it was: it was personal and mine and a little terrifying at times. It was for us, nobody else, and that was why I loved loving him. That was what it was, after all; my mother and aunt were fairies. I had seen love blossom and take its course, and what I felt for Simon was definitely it. _

_I, Maeve Scarlet, was in love with the beautiful boy sitting next to me._

_And so, without a second thought after his remark and my blush, I leaned over and kissed him. It started slowly, cautiously; neither one of us were very familiar with such intimacy. But as I leaned further into the kiss and Simon tentatively wrapped his arms around my waist the caution was shoved aside. He spread his cold fingers along my lower back, pulling me closer to him, and I molded my lips to his as I ran my fingers slowly through his tangled, damp curls._

_I pulled away just long enough to whisper, "I love you," and Simon whispered "I love you" back and then we were kissing again, trying to get closer than physically possible for two people. He pressed my back against the ground, leaning over top of me as he ran a frigid finger along my cheekbone. _

"_I believe I won that round, Lady Scarlet," he said quietly, a smirk playing on his lips._

"_Perhaps," I replied, equally as quiet. I was staring into his eyes, which were like glittering stones of onyx in the dim firelight. "Although I'm inclined to request a rematch."_

"_Is that so?" he whispered, his hands already running down the length of my thighs to rest just under my legs. "Well, Lady Scarlet, I am inclined to reject your request. I won this time," he said, leaning in to breathe the words into my ear. "And now, Maeve, you are at _my_ mercy."_

_I bit my lip thoughtfully, looking up at Simon as he began slowly pulling me up with him, his hands underneath my thighs. "But I was under the impression that you had no mercy."_

_He began to march kisses up my neck, towards my ear; kisses that left sharp stings and made my breathing uneven. "In that case, Lady Scarlet," he said softly, and I could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke. "You were under the correct impression."_

* * *

"What is this?!" Blue's shriek sounded through what seemed like the entirety of Storybrooke from the door of Granny's diner that morning. I stifled a yawn and then a laugh as she came striding into the room, glaring at everyone in sight. Everyone stared back in astonishment as Blue was really blue: her skin, her hair, even her fingernails. Every inch of her body was a vibrant shade of azure, her navy nun outfit matching it rather nicely. Only her eyes were the same: dark brown and furious.

"How's it going, milady?" I asked offhandedly, nodding at her with a grin playing on my lips as I clutched my mug of tea. "You're looking a bit . . . _blue_ this morning." Behind me, I heard Ruby choke on something between a giggle and a snort as she wiped down the counter.

"Was this you?" she demanded, holding up one her hands as evidence. "Did you do this?"

I shrugged. "Not sure what you're talking about, darlin'. Maybe you should calm down – Granny makes an amazing blueberry tea." Beside me, Belle giggled softly as Blue's eyes widened in anger.

"Why on earth would you do this, you infuriating, horrible little half-breed?!" she said, almost yelling. I had never heard the Blue Fairy yell before, and was fairly proud of the fact that I had driven her to the brink of madness in a mere twelve hours.

"I told you yesterday," I explained slowly, stirring another teaspoon of sugar into my tea. "I'm not putting up with your crap anymore. Think of this as payback . . . several decades-worth of payback." Blue flushed angrily; but instead of turning pink, her cheeks turned a more violent shade of cobalt.

"It'll come out," I promised her with a laugh. "Eventually." Ruby snorted again and Belle was attempting in vain to conceal a grin. I myself was smirking at the fairy before me, who did not seem to know how to react.

"This ends now, Scarlet," she hissed furiously.

I shook my head. "No it doesn't. Now have a nice day, Blue – and be careful. Izzy's spellbooks are full of ideas."

Blue stood there, hemming and hawing, for a minute or two before she stormed back out of the diner, slamming the door behind her. The moment it closed, half of the diner burst out laughing, and I took a sip of my tea. It was shaping up to be a pretty good morning.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter was mostly fluffy stuff. Sorry about that, but this took place during the episode Tallahassee, which didn't show anything from Storybrooke. So I made it up – hope it turned out alright. :) There was some friendship fluff in there – I love writing Maeve-Ruby-Belle three-way conversations, 'cause Belle and Ruby's friendship is adorable and I kind of wanted in on it. ;) And some Blue/Maeve rivalry crap in there as well, because I honestly can't stand the Blue Fairy in this show. Sorry to anyone who likes her, but she annoys the hell out of me! Oh, and Simon. How could I forget Simon? *laughs evilly* There's the horrible bastard that I know well and none of you are quite familiar with! :) Y'all aren't going to like him at all in a chapter or two. **

**Anyway, thank y'all so much for the wonderful support! Once again, I love all of my amazing readers, because you're a huge part of this story. Without you guys to read and review, Maeve and her adventures would be absolutely nowhere, so thanks. :) Also, if anyone could help me come up with a ship name for Maeve and Simon, suggestions would be hugely appreciated. :)**

**Next chapter will be up ASAP, and will have some more of Maeve and Snow and Red in the EF. Simon's final feature chapter will be the one following that, in which I reveal his evil secret and why he's haunting Maeve. Also, in case this wasn't clear, Simon's ghost isn't really there; he's part of the hallucinations that Maeve is having. ;)**

**Until next time, my lovelies!**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	29. You Are What You Are, Maeve Scarlet

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters/plotlines/settings. Just Maeve, Isadora and Simon (as well as their backstories). Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_"Regrets collect like old friends,_

_Here to relive your darkest moments._

_I can see no way, I can see no way,_

_And all of the ghouls come out to play."_

_- Florence + the Machine, Shake It Out _

* * *

I blinked my eyes open, sunlight drifting down lazily through the sheer curtains over my bedroom window. The room was warm, despite the oddly chilly spring weather we had received recently, and I was curled up in a comforter with more than four hours of sleep. Things felt incredibly good.

"Morning, love."

I stifled a scream of surprise as I rolled over to see Simon lying next to me in the bed, his soft brown eyes studying me with an expression of excitement. Fear flooded through me as he carefully lifted a finger to caress my cheek; his touch felt colder than usual against my flushed skin, and I swallowed nervously.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice low; Izzy hearing me yell at a hallucination of my ex-lover was the last thing I needed at the moment.

"Just came to say good morning," Simon said cheerfully, smirking at my reaction. "I would apologise for startling you, but I'm fairly certain neither of us would care for any of the pleasantries." I simply glared in response and Simon chuckled. "Same as ever, darling."

"Don't call me that," I hissed furiously, swinging my legs over the side of the bed as I sat up. Hastily I had plastered anger over all of my fear, keeping my emotions in check; if this hallucination was anything like the real Simon, then revealing any sort of weakness to this phantom would not end well for me.

"Why not?" he asked quietly, sitting up behind me and running a hand along my bare arm, which I jerked away from his touch. "You used to love it when I called you that. What changed, my dear Maeve?" The phantom leaned in closer to whisper against my ear. "Was it that night, when you did what was for the best?"

Suddenly I felt something heavy in my hand; when I glanced down, it was the silver dagger from the previous night's vision. I shook my head, willing the image away, and quickly stood from the bed. Simon followed me across the room, over to my dresser, where I began to sort through the messy drawers for clothes. Izzy had done laundry recently, it seemed, considering that it all smelled of fabric softener and wasn't wrinkled beyond belief. I made a mental note to thank her for that later as I pulled out a pair of leggings and a knit sweater.

"Get lost," I muttered, sifting through my underwear drawer and hoping the fake Simon wasn't looking over my shoulder; by all accounts I shouldn't care if a goddamn hallucination saw my panties, but it still felt violating.

"No," Simon retorted with a sly grin. "I don't think I will. This is just too much fun, isn't it, Maeve? We do have a lot of catching up to do, and I would hate to miss the opportunities." Simon snapped his fingers and I felt a flash of agony in my abdomen as I looked down and saw the silver dagger embedded in my stomach, blood seeping out around the wound and soaking my shirt. Then it was gone, and Simon was laughing.

He suddenly darted around to my other side and peered intently into the dresser drawer. "Oh, I like this drawer," he said teasingly before looking pointedly at the pair of blue lace underwear in my hand. "And I would love to see those on you, Maeve. This day is getting off to a fantastic start already, isn't it?"

* * *

"So, are you ready for the party next weekend?" Ruby asked excitedly as she poured drinks for the dwarves and Charming. Blue and Belle were also in the diner, and I tossed glares at the former and smiles at the latter.

"Is she seriously still harping on about that?" Simon asked from right next to me, rolling his eyes. He had been tagging along after me all day, following me from place to place and dropping verbal bombs on my mind the entire time. I was going completely mad.

"Um - no, not really," I answered Ruby as casually I could with a ghost breathing down the back of my neck. Simon was lazily tracing patterns on my arm with his fingers, smirking horribly at me all the while. Suddenly he snapped his fingers, and I heard someone scream my name amid a string of begging for 'Lady Scarlet' to be merciful. Attempting to hide my flinch, I took a long sip of tea, but Simon noticed my reaction and his smirk grew.

"Well, you should get ready," Ruby said firmly before waltzing off to the back room. I stared after her, worry gnawing at the small part of me which wasn't occupied with ignoring Simon's phantom; she had been panicking all day about the full moon, which was to be that night. Her enchanted cloak was nowhere to be found, and Ruby believed that after thirty years without practice, her control over the wolf wouldn't be as strong as it used to.

"You alright?" I glanced up as David beckoned me over to where he and Henry sat in a booth. After a moment's hesitation, I walked over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, forcing a smile for Henry as I leaned against the side of David's seat. "How's it going here?"

"Fairy dust on the way, Emma and Snow coming home - everything seems pretty great at the moment." David smiled happily as he said this, and I managed a nod of agreement in his direction while Simon trailed his fingertips along my bare shoulders and laughed wickedly behind me.

"This kid is drinking coffee," David added, nodding at Henry. I raised a questioning eyebrow at the kid, who simply shrugged and said, "I wanted to stay up, I guess." He and Charming exchanged a glance that I opted to ignore; sacred grandfather-grandson things had clearly gone down recently, and I was in no mood or position to be asking questions about it.

"Henry," David continued, tossing me a pleading glance. "Why don't you and Maeve go and get some hot chocolate? Leave the caffeine here." Henry nodded and stood up, hurrying over to the counter and talking to Granny. I remained where I was, watching David carefully.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and he sighed. "Give it a second."

Suddenly, someone slid into Henry's now-empty seat: a tall, balding and pasty someone, dressed very businesslike in a suit, tie and tailored dress-coat. He sat down, unwrapping the striped scarf from around his neck and folding his aged hands on the table before him, looking like he just walked out of an episode of Law & Order. I recognised the man immediately, and felt a stab of fury that nearly distracted me from the hovering spirit of my dead lover.

"George," I muttered angrily as I took the seat next to David. He shot me a glance that clearly said 'get lost', but I refused: I would sooner lock myself in a broom closet with Blue than leave him alone with his psychotic . . . well, whatever George was.

"Lady Scarlet," the ex-king said coolly, nodding in my direction. I held back a stream of profanity and instead seethed quietly from my seat as he and Charming said their malicious hellos.

"Perhaps we could talk in private?" George said, glancing disdainfully at me.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "I don't think that'll happen. In fact, I can tell you it almost certainly won't happen." Leaning over the table, I glared right into his watery gray eyes. "I really should have killed you when I had the chance."

"You couldn't have," he said smugly, and I pursed my lips.

"That's right - you cheated." A smirk began playing on my lips. "Of course, there was the other time that I had you cornered in your own throne room. But Regina was of more importance; I suppose there's nothing new there, right, Georgie?" The former king sneered at me but said nothing.

"Maeve," David said, not taking his eyes off of George. "Why don't you go see if Henry's alright? I think that might be a good idea." I could tell that he wanted to be alone with the man, although I couldn't understand why. For once, however, I decided to listen to him, and slowly walked over to the counter where Henry was sitting on a barstool with a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

"That's King George." It wasn't a question. I nodded at the kid as we watched David and George talk; whatever the old man was saying, Charming didn't seem to like it. I sighed and swiped some of the whipped cream off the top of Henry's hot cocoa before turning to Ruby - only to see that she wasn't there. I scanned the room, but my best friend appeared to have vanished.

"Where's Ruby?" I asked, suddenly aware of Simon's absence; he would disappear every few hours, but the reprieve felt like it hadn't come in days. I still had no idea why I was seeing him everywhere, but I knew I needed to research it. However, with my dead ex's ghost hanging around me every minute of the day, reading about how to destroy him was nearly impossible without having the insane visions and hallucinations that left me shaking on the floor.

"She's in the back," Henry said, sipping his cocoa. "Said something about the full moon tonight."

I nodded; I still did not know how to comfort her concerning the wolf. I had faith that she could still control it, but every time I told her that she panicked again, rambling on about how it had been thirty years and she was out of practice and that she might kill again and that she couldn't have another Peter on her hands. By that point I usually made her a cup of tea and attempted to get her breathing normally again, which worked most of the time. The bit about Peter was something she knew I understood, although she would never say that aloud; she was one of the few who knew about Simon.

"She'll be fine," I said, mostly to reassure myself. Henry just nodded and drank some more cocoa before pushing the mug away and sighing. I raised an eyebrow. "Are we doing the contemplate-death-and-other-dark-things thing again?" I asked reproachfully, and the kid shook his head with a small smile of amusement.

"No - I'm just tired." I nodded. I was fairly tired myself. Spending the past two days with Simon creeping up behind me every chance he got had been taxing on my sanity and my nerves, and I swore that the next person to tap me on the shoulder was going to get themselves decapitated.

"Take Henry home, would you?" It was David again. During our conversation he had walked over, George vanishing from the booth. The prince looked worried, although I knew from experience that talking about his problems only made him more stressed over them.

"Sure," I said, hopping down from my seat. "Come on, kid - David needs some time to think. I'll let you cut through the park," I prompted, and Henry immediately jumped down from his barstool. Sometimes I revelled in how easy it was to tempt kids.

As we walked through the crisp night air, the moon hanging massive and pearl-white in the sky, Henry talked on and on about the book. He had already broken the curse, proven the entire town wrong - an 'I told you so' the kid still had yet to collect on - and freed all of the fairy tale characters. But he was still completely obsessed with this book. He had probably read the thing a few thousand times, but there were always new details for him to reread and analyse.

It took me a moment to realise that he was talking about my story in the book. "And the way you helped Snow and Red - Ruby, sorry," he said, smiling. "I mean, that sort of proved that you were one of the good guys. Well, _could_ be, anyway. You weren't always evil, so you didn't always stay evil - you know?" I shrugged, pretending to be neutral; in reality, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You were in love once, too, right?" That stopped me dead in my tracks. I stood, completely frozen on the sidewalk, staring at Henry with something close to horror. He turned around, looking confused. "Are you okay?"

I cleared my throat, avoiding eye contact with him. "Um, yeah - yeah, I'm fine. You were saying?" I had had no idea that the book ever even alluded to Simon's existence.

"His name was Simon, wasn't it?" The kid continued on as if nothing had happened, something I occasionally envied him. He could move past things, whereas I was incapable of that. "Simon Welles? Funny, his last name was your cursed last name." I nodded, fully aware of that; it was something I had been meaning to mention, rather furiously, to Regina. "Anyway, the book doesn't say that much about him; just that you two were in love once, and his name. That was about it." I sighed in relief; at least the kid didn't know the whole story.

"So . . . is it true? Did you love someone?"

I hesitated a moment, only having told a few people this. Simon was something private, something I tried so hard to hide from the world; it had always been a moment of weakness for me, a shameful mark on an already-awful reputation. But this was Henry Mills, after all; if I didn't tell him myself, the kid would find out another way, and then I had no control over what he heard. So I told him the truth - some of it, anyway.

"Yes, I was in love," I said slowly, phrasing my response carefully. "His name was Simon Welles, and . . . well, that's it really. I was in love, but it didn't really work out."

"What happened?"

"He . . . well, I loved him. But he didn't love me back." That was true enough without going into the gory details of my relationship with Simon. It was definitely true, at least, that the bastard had never loved me back. And as for me loving him . . . I was certain that, at some point, I had. But that was over.

"I'm sorry," Henry said, and I nodded silently, thinking about how little I deserved his sympathy.

* * *

_Snow, Red and I sprinted through the undergrowth, each of us armed with our own choice of weaponry. I had brought along my twin daggers and a bow and arrow, and the other two girls had opted for a hunting knife each. I certainly would not be making ruthless warriors out of them._

_I darted out of a grove of trees and raised my bow, an arrow already notched, and fired at the target: a buck, clopping along in the forest. Red made a small sound of remorse as the young deer dropped to the ground, and I knew Snow was probably holding back tears or something of the like. Meanwhile, I was striding over to inspect my prey._

_The buck had not died from my arrow; I took a dagger from its sheath and ended the creature's misery, while one of my saddened companions let out a small whimper from behind me. I suppressed a sigh of annoyance and drew out my arrow, quickly wiping the deer's blood from its tip before sliding it back into my quiver. Then I turned around to face Snow and Red, who were obviously upset about the deer._

_"Did it have to be a buck?" Snow asked, still staring pityingly at the animal. This time I did not suppress my sigh before raising my eyebrows at the princess._

_"It was the only living thing around here, and we've been living off of berries and twigs for weeks." Snow nodded but still remained sad as I began to string the deer's carcass to pull it back to our camp. Red watched hesitantly for a moment, and then walked over to help me. _

_"She's not used to it," the girl said quietly to me as we hauled the buck through the woods, Snow marching a few feet ahead of us and pulling aside plants and branches to make way for us. "Just . . . be kind to her. She's never had to understand this."_

_"Understand what?" I replied, just as quietly; despite my exasperation towards Snow, I still was not entirely comfortable with outright insulting the girl very often. I could not pinpoint why exactly, although I often suspected it was due to how similar she and Izzy were. "That perhaps eating something other than tree bark and mushrooms might be good for one's ability to escape certain death every other day?"_

_"No - understand that killing sometimes is necessary," Red explained as we hiked up a small hill, struggling a bit; the buck may have been young, but it certainly was not light. "She's a princess, remember? She's never had to kill anything to survive before. She's never been taught that sometimes you have to sacrifice something for the good of everyone." Red sighed. "She just doesn't understand."_

_Up ahead, Snow was building a fire in our camp. She glanced up to see us carrying the buck's body and her face fell as she took in the sight. _

_I glanced sideways at Red, who was looking a tad uncomfortable as we set the carcass down in front of her friend. "Well, Red, you aren't wrong," I said as we backed away from the dead deer and the disheartened princess._

* * *

I woke the next morning to my phone bleeping rather insistently, the sound cutting through a heavy layer of sleep and pulling me from a dream in which Simon chased me through a hall full of mirrors, every one of them spattered with blood.

Blinking sleep from my eyes, I reached over to my nightstand and picked up the phone, frowning when I saw the diner's phone number on the caller display. I cautiously held the phone to my ear and said, "What the hell?"

"It's Ruby's grandmother," said a worried voice on the other end. "Something's happened - Ruby turned last night, and she's disappeared."

I instantly sat bolt upright in bed, fear coursing through me as I swung my legs out and hurried to grab the nearest pair of leggings. "I'm coming."

* * *

"Ruby? Ruby!" "Ruby!" "RUBY LUCAS!"

David and I yelled for my best friend as we followed her grandmother through the forest just on the town's border. We were getting too close to the town line for my liking, though, and for a moment I allowed myself to consider the possibility of the wolf having crossed it. That we would find Ruby wandering about on the other side, cold and scared and having forgotten all of us. Then I tossed the idea aside as quickly as it had come; she couldn't forget us.

"She's over here!" Granny called ahead of us, and David and I hurried after her, not even bothering to ask questions. We simply ran.

"Ruby," I said as we approached her; she was laying, unconscious, on the forest floor, fully clothed. I had always wondered how she managed to retain her clothes during a transformation, but never bothered to ask; after all, as long we didn't ever find her naked, I wouldn't need to know.

"Ruby," Granny said, a bit louder, shaking her granddaughter. Ruby's eyes fluttered open and she slowly stood up, confused as she took in her surroundings. "Why are we in the forest?"

"You turned," Granny explained gently, still holding Ruby's arm to keep her steady. "Last night. The freezer was torn to shreds, and you'd run off." Ruby's eyes widened in horror as her grandmother continued her explanation. "But you're okay now, so -"

"No," she said, shaking her head adamantly. "No, no, no, not again." Ruby jerked her arm out of her grandmother's grasp and ran a hand through her hair as she panicked profusely, continuing to negate the entire situation. "This can't be happening again."

"It hasn't," I said firmly, but Ruby just shook her head again.

"What if it has? What if what happened before - what happened to Peter - what if it happened again? What if I killed someone?" Her voice hitched on the last words, fear evident in her tone.

Suddenly, David's cell phone went off. The prince stepped aside to take the call while Granny and I attempted (in vain) to calm Ruby down from her ever-growing panic. "Look, everything's fine. People would be freaking out if you'd killed anyone, and no one's running around suggesting we publicly stake anyone, so obviously no one was killed." Granny shot me an annoyed look after this statement.

"What?" I said defensively. "Public execution seems to be the only answer the people in this town have for whenever things go to hell. Trust me on that; I was nearly on the receiving end of one of those executions."

Ruby sighed heavily, allowing her grandmother to wrap and arm around her shoulders. "Okay, I'm okay," she said, although it was probably more to assure herself than us. "I'm fine - nothing happened, right? Everything's fine."

I nodded, sincerely doubting that sentence's truth. "Everything's fine."

* * *

"_Perhaps a sword would be more useful," I suggested as I walked up behind Snow, who was practicing with her hunting knife._

_The princess shook her head politely. "No, thank you. I'd prefer this." She held up the knife, although she also did not appear entirely comfortable with the weapon. I held back an exasperated sigh as she attempted to swing the blade again. Reaching over impatiently, I grabbed her wrist and moved it into the proper position._

"_It'll be a hell of a lot easier to fight that way," I explained, and Snow's eye glanced away from mine as she lowered the knife to her side. "What's wrong now?"_

"_It's just . . . I can't." Snow dropped the hunting knife, letting it clatter to the ground, and sighed heavily. "I can't do this: hurt people, kill people." She said the word kill quietly, as if afraid to speak it. "I can't use weapons, or hunt. I can't do any of this."_

"_Yes, you can," I retorted firmly, picking up the knife and pressing it into her hand. "You have an evil queen chasing after you, vying for your head on a platter, and an army that doesn't mind doing her dirty work. By this point, Frosty, you don't have much of a choice."_

_Snow just shook her head again, this time far more adamantly. "No. I can't kill people, and I won't. It's wrong! Just because you've tossed every moral code aside like rubbish -'' _

"_I've what?" I replied, cutting her off with an angry glare. "I do what I do to survive! If I didn't, neither of us would be here right now. If I didn't, all three of us would be dead." Red glanced up at our argument by this point, giving me a look that clearly begged for me not to involve her in this. _

"_Survive!" Snow retorted with more scorn in her voice than I thought possible for such a soft-hearted person. "What about living, Lady Scarlet? What about life, and love, and all of that? Do you think your code of survival is going to give you any of that? Because it won't." Snow then threw the hunting knife at the ground with such force that it stuck straight up from the soil, and marched off._

"_I'm done!" she called over her shoulder as she went. "I'm not training, I'm not taking your advice, I'm not doing any of this! I am not a murderer!"_

* * *

"I'm a murderer," Ruby whispered, distraught, that morning. "I – I'm a murderer, Maeve. I killed someone. I killed Billy." Another stream of tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke, and I bit my lip worriedly while handing her a steaming mug of Izzy's camomile tea.

"It'll calm her right down," my aunt had said. Now, after a mug and a half, Ruby was still panicked and terrified about everything that had happened. And, to be honest, I thought she had a right to be. David and Granny kept trying to convince her that it wasn't her fault, but I knew Ruby in a way they didn't: as a friend. She wasn't going to let anything go just yet, so I knew that she had to do this: mourn, panic, cry. Ruby didn't need reassurance, she needed the truth.

So, I gave it to her.

"Look, Ruby," I said quietly, moving a bit closer to her. We were sitting at my kitchen table, David and Granny agreeing to let her hide out at mine and Izzy's place for a little while – until that night. At night, of course, Ruby had insisted upon being locked up again.

"What?" she said, her voice scratchy and her eyes rimmed with red from all her crying. It had been almost three hours since we had discovered Billy's body, mangled and ripped in half, down near the docks. David's phone call had apparently not been as innocent as we had originally thought.

I paused, watching my best friend carefully. I understood that she needed time to heal, to cope with what had happened. Billy had been important to her – I knew that. But I also knew that she needed to be pulled out of her proverbial bubble of sadness, the same way Gold had managed to drag me out of mine after Graham had passed.

That was why I took a deep breath, forcing myself to begin. "Ruby, I won't say it wasn't your fault, because clearly you refuse to listen to reason. But listen to this, alright? We don't know what happened, and even if it was the wolf, even if you turned and you – well, you know, did that, it wasn't you." My best friend was watching me with a confused expression that flickered occasionally with pain as I spoke.

"I mean, it would've been the wolf – and the wolf's not you. That's what I'm getting at, alright? You are Ruby. The wolf is the Wolf. Two entirely different things, even if they sometimes share a body."

Ruby was shaking her head, swiping at another stream of tears. "This isn't a first, Maeve. I've killed before, someone I loved –''

"Peter, I know," I said, nodding. "You mentioned. But darlin', look at us – all of us. Snow was a thieving bandit, Rumple was the bloody Dark One – no one is innocent, Ruby. Look at me, for God's sake! I was Lady Scarlet, the mass freaking murderer! I've killed hundreds of people, but you still manage to see me as innocent. You still manage to look at me every day as though I was never a homicidal maniac. So snap out of it, because even if Billy is dead and even if it was the Wolf, he would not want you to torture yourself like this!"

A long stretch of silence followed this speech, and Ruby stared at me as though I had just slapped her across the face. I was trying to figure out how to properly apologise for something like that when she leaned over and hugged me so tightly I had trouble breathing.

"I know," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I know he wouldn't want this, but it's just –he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to die." I could feel her hot tears soaking through my shirtsleeve, but I ignored it for her sake.

"They never do," I whispered back.

"We have a problem." I glanced up to see David standing in my bedroom doorway, Izzy hovering nervously behind him, Granny behind her. I untangled myself from Ruby's embrace and raised a questioning eyebrow at the prince.

"Problem?" I asked, worry creeping into my voice. Beside me, Ruby was hanging off of David's every word. "What kind of problem are we talking about here, Charming?"

"Ruby, you need to come with me," he said. "It's Spencer – George, I mean. He's whipped everyone into a frenzy. They – well, they're looking for you." I felt my stomach drop at his words and looked over to Ruby, who was blanched and seemed pretty terrified.

"Well, shit," I said in frustration as David and Granny ushered the pair of us out of my bedroom, Izzy hurrying after us. "I just got her calm!"

"Language, Maeve," Izzy remarked, and I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?"

"What exactly is George planning to do when he finds Ruby?" I asked. When no one answered, my voice grew frantic. "Charming, what the bloody hell is he planning?"

David turned to me with a hesitant expression. "He – he's going to kill her."

I froze, every inch of me flooding with fear. Then, as quickly as it had come, the fear was replaced with something far stronger: anger. Fury was more like it, in fact, and I marched straight out of the front door and started down the street, clenching my hands into fists to keep from going completely ballistic.

"Maeve? Maeve, get back here!" David and Izzy came running down the street after me.

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice low and constricted with anger. I didn't even look back, just kept walking down the street, not caring if I was even going in the right direction.

"You can't kill him!" Izzy said sharply, and I whirled around to stare at my aunt incredulously.

"Are you kidding me? I can't kill him? Because he'd been fine with brutally murdering me – or Ruby, for that matter! He's leading a hunting party to find and kill my best friend, Izzy! I'm not capable of being okay with that!"

"Maeve," she said again, placing a hand on my arm calmingly. "You need to calm down right now, or that bastard might just find Ruby while we're arguing." I sucked in a deep breath, attempting to bring myself back to rationality; it wasn't working too well.

"I can't," I said quietly. "I can't lose her, Izzy." I was aware of David standing a few feet away, but somehow I didn't really care. "I can't lose anyone else – not now." Izzy pulled me into a tight hug, nodding, and I felt a tear drop from her cheek onto my shirt.

"I know," she whispered. "I can't, either."

"Maeve," David said with a slight cough. I gently pulled away from my aunt and nodded once at the prince in recognition. "George is searching for Ruby all over town. He's leading a mob tonight, and we're going to hide her somewhere – Belle's volunteered the library. You, Granny and I are going to have to prove Ruby's innocence; you know these people, they won't listen unless you have proof." He paused, studying my quiet reaction. "Can you stay calm until then?"

I glanced from David to Izzy and back again, both of them watching me cautiously. Then I nodded in agreement. "Alright. I can wait until later – but if we find George, I am unleashing all circles of hell on his ass."

* * *

"You could track the scent?" I asked Granny sceptically as Ruby held Billy's tattered uniform out to her; I could see my friend cringe when she touched a bloodstain.

"Definitely," Granny replied, raising her eyebrows at me in annoyed surprise. Then she turned back to her granddaughter, who was shaking all over and had a hand braced on the edge of a desk to keep herself steady. Belle was right there to help her, and I wished yet again that Ruby would let me stay with her. But she had been adamant: I was to help David and Granny find Billy's real murderer. She said that he deserved to be avenged, and I couldn't help but agree; out of all of Ruby's numerous boyfriends, I had actually quite liked the mouse.

"You'll be okay?" Granny asked her. I thought that this was an astonishingly stupid question, all things considered: there was no way in hell Ruby was 'okay'. But she still forced a small smile and nodded to reassure her grandmother.

"We'll be back soon," I said as David and Granny strode out of the library. "Be careful."

"Maeve," Ruby called as I began hurrying after my current hunting companions. "You be careful, too." I simply nodded, having no intention to do such a thing.

I sprinted out of the library and after the prince and Ruby's grandmother, who were standing on the street corner waiting for me. When I arrived next to the pair, Granny was holding Billy's uniform to her nose and then sniffing the cold breeze that drifted through town; it felt as though it might be about to thunderstorm soon.

"Hope it doesn't rain on our manhunt," I remarked offhandedly to David as Granny finally managed to catch a scent and began striding purposefully down the street. Ruby's grandmother and I disagreed on many things and often couldn't be in the same room without arguing, but I could definitely say that she had one hell of a sense of purpose. If I had been Billy's murderer and had seen that woman walking towards me, I would've run off with my tail between my legs. Messing with her granddaughter was a crime that was punishable by death in Granny's eyes.

"Yeah," David replied absently. "Hope not." He seemed more preoccupied with something else, and I felt a pang of worry at this.

"Is this about George?" I asked quietly, and he glanced sideways at me.

"How do you know about George?" he replied, just a quietly; letting Granny overhear could have been dangerous, both to us and to her.

"I was in the diner when he talked to you," I reminded him. "Is this whole contemplative-David thing about what he said? What did he say, by the way?" I knew that my questions would probably never receive answers, but I figured I should ask them anyway.

"Not much of anything, really," David replied vaguely, and I sighed. Of course, we were back to the vague answers. "What I mean," the prince continued, noticing my annoyance. "Is that he didn't say much - except for the part where he threatened my entire family, and told me he would destroy me at any cost."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, he certainly hasn't gotten better at threatening people. After all, about fifty percent of your family is either dead or in another dimension, and destroying you would get him killed."

"Killed?" David asked, confused. "I doubt the people would be fond of him, but I don't think they would ever -"

I cut him off with a short laugh. "Are you kidding me? I didn't mean the bloody townsfolk. I meant me, Charming." David looked even more confused at this statement. "I swore to protect you, remember? And besides, do you honestly think that my not protecting you would go over very well with Snow when she gets back?" I laughed again at the very thought.

David still looked baffled as Granny called to us, "I found it!"

We hurried around the corner to find her standing next to a sleek grey economy car that seemed oddly familiar to me. David rushed over and quickly picked the lock of the trunk. I smirked. "I'm impressed, Charming."

"Shut up," he said over his shoulder, although his heart didn't seem to be in it. Then his eyes widened in horror as he opened the trunk. Peering over his shoulder along with Granny, I could clearly see why: in the trunk of the car was a steel hunting axe, as well as the crimson cloak Ruby had been searching for the past week or two.

"They framed her," I said quietly. "Whose car is this?"

David smashed the driver's side window and pulled out the license registration. The moment he stopped reading, he slammed his hand against the side of the car in fury that I had never seen David have. He glanced up at me, his blue eyes brimming with anger. "It was George."

I paused, staring at him in disbelief for a moment. "Are we vetoing the policy of not killing him now?"

* * *

_I was coaxing flame into a pile of twigs and pine needles when Snow reappeared at camp, looking incredibly lost. She walked into the small clearing and sat down, back against a tree trunk and her legs tucked up to her chest. She said nothing, only stared absently at a tree across from her._

_"Where've you been, Frosty?" I asked mildly, trying to hide my annoyance. Red shot me a warning glance, but I was not taking orders from werewolves. "Meet anyone new?"_

_Snow looked up and stared me in the eye, her gaze hard and unreadable. "I did, actually. I ran into a group of the queen's men." I sat bolt upright at these words, panic racing through every inch of me as the princess continued to remain completely calm._

_"How are you not dead?" I demanded, and Red shushed me. Once again, I ignored the girl._

_"They wanted to make a deal with me," Snow said, her eyes softening and growing distant again. "They said that Regina wants me - she wants me badly. But they also said that she wants you." I sucked in a sharp but quiet breath of panic. What the hell did she do? "She wants you badly enough to let me run away, go to some quiet corner of the world to be exiled - if I handed you over. If I gave up your location." _

_"What the hell did you do?" I said sharply, and Snow refocused her eyes on my horrified expression. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion at my reaction._

_"What do you think I did?" she asked in bewilderment. "Maeve, I'm not the most selfless person in the world, but I'm certainly capable of keeping a secret." The princess breathed a small sigh of exasperation. "I didn't give you up."_

_I relaxed against a tree trunk, but still watched Snow cautiously, completely baffled by her decision. "Then how aren't you dead, Frosty? If you turned down Regina's deal, you should be dead." At this question, a slight blush crept onto Snow's cheeks. "Someone saved me."_

_"Saved you?" I asked, highly intrigued now. "Who exactly goes around saving bandits from the queen's men, hmm?" _

_Snow's blush reddened even further as she elaborated. "He was - well, I think he was a noble. He came riding down the road on a horse, saw the men chasing after me, and ran after them. He didn't even have to kill them - he just tied them up." She was grinning, her eyes alight with something that I did not quite recognise. "He saved my life."_

_I leaned back in contemplation, attempting to picture this so-called saviour. "So, a noble who was just riding around on his great white steed, caught sight of a pretty young maiden and saved her from the evil queen's men," I said, frowning._

_"And he was quite handsome, too," Snow added, although I wasn't sure what relevance that comment held. "And very gentlemanly." _

_I nodded absently, already drifting off; the bizarre amount of excitement of the day needed to be balanced out by sleep. "He sounds like a real Prince Charming," I remarked nonchalantly before nodding off. _

* * *

"The next one goes through your eyes!" Granny shouted from atop the sheriff's car roof. She held her crossbow, and had it pointed directly at King George's balding head. The man dropped the gun he had just attempted to murder my best friend with.

David and I strode through the mob, who were all my neighbours and Lindsey's previous acquaintances holding flaming torches and even a pitchfork or two. Everyone was watching me in either fear or anger, but I ignored them all as I hurried to where I knew Ruby was hiding: behind a row of garbage bins outside the cannery.

"Wait," David said, grabbing my arm. I yanked it out of his grip, annoyed. "What?"

"She's a wolf," he reminded me, clutching her cloak tightly. "We don't know what she'll do. If you go too fast or too loudly, she could get scared and hurt you."

I scoffed at this idea. "It's Ruby, David. She won't hurt me." She's one of the few who would never hurt me, I added in my mind.

"You never know," David retorted, shaking his head at me. "I'll go. This might need a gentler touch, alright?" He started forwards, half tip-toeing along the gravel, his every move screaming the caution that I knew I would never have had.

"Just - make sure she's alright," I said. David glanced back at me and nodded solemnly before continuing his path towards Ruby; I could hear her growling as he approached. I understood why David had to be the one to go: I was too loud, too dangerous, too violent to do anything with the 'gentler touch' that the prince somehow managed. I almost envied him that ability.

Then I turned around and punched George square in the jaw, hoping to God that I had broken it.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, holding his chin in pain. I simply nodded stiffly in his direction and then glanced over at Granny. "There any handcuffs or something in the car?" Granny shrugged and climbed down from the roof, still keeping a tight grip on her crossbow, to search David's glove compartment for such an object. George glared at me.

"Found something," Granny called; she tossed me a pair of plastic restraints, which wasn't nearly as good at steel handcuffs, but I was in no position to be picky. So I tied the former king up and pushed him onto the ground so he was sitting at my feet. "Much better," I said to myself happily.

"Ruby, it's me," I could hear David saying as he crept closer to her. "It's me, it's David." I wished sorely to be the one over there, saving someone for a change. I needed to be there for my best friend - one of my only friends by that point - and I couldn't. I couldn't stay calm enough or good enough to save her.

"That's what happens," a voice whispered next to my ear. I stifled a scream but still flinched as Simon's phantom reappeared beside me, smirking broadly.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, running a fingertip along my collarbone. "Did I startle you? It wasn't intentional, I assure you." He began to trace icy-cold patterns along my bare arm, and it took every fibre of my being and every small bit of willpower that I had left not to shy away from his touch or cringe when he laughed in my ear. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real . . .

"I'm very real, darling," Simon whispered delightedly, and I was shocked. Could the little imp see inside my mind, as well? Could he tell what I had been thinking from the very beginning? Did he know my thoughts? Were all of my efforts to hide my feelings from him in vain?

"Not in vain," he said, and I was certain of it: he could read my thoughts. "Just . . . more for my amusement, really. Do you know how entertaining it is, watching you squirm like that? Especially after what you did. How you made me squirm." Simon was completely solemn again, and I remembered his ever-changing moods: how he could go from the happiest person in the world to the most terrifying in a heartbeat. It had petrified me the first time it had happened, but I had become accustomed to it after time.

"I'm back, Maeve," he said softly, his lips brushing along my neck. "And I'm not going away. Not this time around." Then he vanished and I was left standing there, my heart racing and my nerves completely wracked.

"Maeve!" someone shouted, and I turned around to see Granny standing there yelling at me as she pointed in the direction of a fleeing figure: George. He had escaped while I had been distracted.

"Shit," I muttered and took off after him, not even bothering to get into the sheriff's car with David and Ruby; the wait was too long. I needed to get the bastard, and I need to get him now.

* * *

"George!" I yelled, anger coloring my voice. "Where the hell are you, you pathetic little bastard?! Come on, don't be such a bloody COWARD!"

"I'm the coward?" I sprinted around a cluster of rocks to see the former king standing on the beach, a bonfire blazing before him. Ruby and David weren't far behind me and arrived a heartbeat later, both panting and angry.

"Yes, you're the coward," I spat furiously, advancing; but Ruby held me back by the arm, shaking her head at me. "It's not worth it," she whispered, although I disagreed; whatever I was planning to do to George, it was certainly worth it.

"The monster has a pet, I see," George remarked, grinning nastily at Ruby and I. "How sweet. And of course their strong leader, Prince Charming." Those words seemed to taste bitter in the man's mouth.

"What do you want, George?" David demanded impatiently, glaring at the ex-king. "Do you want to make a deal? What is it?"

"I don't want to make a deal, David," he said, that grin making me incredibly uneasy. "I just wanted to see your face when you realise that you're never going to see your family again. Your wife, your daughter - they're gone." Before anyone could question this unusual statement - and before I could hit him again - George reached into his coat and pulled out a tattered black top hat that was frighteningly familiar.

"You really should take more caution with such valuable possessions," George said with a smirk as he tossed the hat into the bonfire.

"No!" David yelled, sprinting forwards; but it was too late. The hat was already turning to ash, burning like tinder. George simply stood beside the fire, grinning manically at the distraught man who was kneeling next to the bonfire. Then David stood and, without a word, punched George in the face. The man fell backwards to see the sheriff aiming his gun at his face.

I sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. David had been angry before, he had fought in battle before - but losing control like that? Pulling a gun on a fallen opponent? That was never his way. He was Prince freaking Charming, after all: all noble intentions, all the time. Typically that annoyed me about him, but now? Now I was realising how lucky I was to be led by someone who wasn't cruel, or who wasn't ruthless. Who was nothing like the man he was now preparing to kill.

"David," Ruby said; tears shone in her eyes, and I knew it wouldn't be long until I reached that point, too. "David, don't!" The prince paused, still staring down at the king with the gun in hand. "He's not worth it," Ruby continued. There was a moment in which it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath; then, miraculously, David dropped the gun. He walked over to Ruby, who wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug before turning to look at me. David seemed so upset that he probably wouldn't even notice my momentary absence from the group, which was partly why I did what I did next.

"Ruby," I said, not looking at my best friend; I was only looking at George. "Stay with David. Get him to the diner, make some tea. I'll meet you two there." My voice was mechanical, forced, the words devoid of any emotion.

"Maeve, don't," Ruby began, but I shook my head at her.

"Too many people have died because of him," I said, nodding once at George, who was watching the conversation with something close to fear. "And now Snow and Emma? I'm sorry, but I'm not okay with that. Take David to the diner, and I'll meet you two there. David can't kill him," I added, finally turned to face Ruby. "But I'm not bound to morality the way he is. I can do it. But I need you to go - I don't want you watching this."

Ruby paused, opening her mouth to say something, but I wasn't having it. "Ruby, go!" So she went, reluctantly, leaving George and I alone on the beach, firelight flickering softly over everything.

"Lady Scarlet," he said, nodding in greeting. But I could see the fear underneath his mask of cool determination.

"Actually," I said, leaning down and picking up David's dropped gun. "I go by Maeve now."

"Do you?" he asked nervously as I quickly checked the clip: three bullets remained. I wondered vaguely what David had used the others for.

"Yes, I do," I said, taking the safety off; David really wasn't that experienced with firearms, was he? "But here's the thing, George. I'm not Lady Scarlet. I'm not a mass murderer. But that doesn't mean," I added, aiming the gun directly at his forehead. "That I'm inept at murder. Because I think we both know how impossible that would be."

"Please," he began, but I shook my head sharply.

"None of that bullcrap," I said, fixing my aim - I would need a clean shot. "I know you, George. Look at everything you've done: the people you've killed, the lives you've ruined. And now you've just locked a rather vital part of my family in another dimension. So, love, there is quite literally nothing you could ever say that could plead your case to any jury in any world. Because no one is stupid enough to believe a word that comes out of your mouth."

And with that, I pulled the trigger.

It was fast, and I realised suddenly why humans had created weapons like that: the death was quick. Final, but quick, and far less messy than most other methods. It seemed more humane, as if the less blood you spilled meant the less horrible the kill was. A defense mechanism, created by people to hide behind. At least they weren't decapitated, or dismembered, or quartered, or any number of other hideous deaths. It was a single piece of shrapnel and, if you knew what you were doing, there was a mere trickle of blood spilled. A trickle of blood from the forehead, and they were dead.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a phial full of dark fairy dust. Izzy kept a fairly steady supply of such magical substances in the house, so it wasn't much of a loss as I took a pinch and sprinkled it over George's corpse, which instantly shrunk down into that of a beetle. Then I walked away, still clutching David's gun.

"I told you," a voice whispered, carried by the whipping winds from the Maine shore. I whirled around, seeing nothing. But the voice continued, and I could hear the harsh glee in it. "You are what you are, Maeve Scarlet, and you are a murderer."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hallo, lovelies! :) I hope that chapter was alright – it kind of took a little while, but it was finished at last. Didn't actually plan for it to be this long, but . . . there it is. 8,600 words. Longest chapter in this story. Awesome. :) Anyway, hope it's okay that I killed off George. I hated him for so long, and he drifted off during the rest of this, so I decided to just murder him. Also, it provided a fantastic moral dilemma for Maeve and kind of for Ruby, so yay! **

**Also, if any of you are Pirates of the Caribbean fans , I have recently posted a fic about that fandom, so check that out if you'd like: It's called "The Last of Them" and it's kind of mysterious/adventure/romance-y stuff, all in one! :) Anyway, check that out if y'all want. ;)**

**Thank you to wolfsrainlover123 and ellenmagi for following this fic! :) And thanks to Guest for Maeve and Simon's ship name: Scarmon. ;) Hope y'all like it! Simon's final feature chapter is the one following this one, which I'm actually writing as we speak – er, write. Whatever. Anyway, the end of their little story will be posted ASAP, so stay tuned! :D**

**Thanks again to every wonderful person reading this fic, and I will see you all next time! Farewell, my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


	30. He Was Gone

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT - nothing here is mine except Maeve and Simon. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_"My soul died in Armageddon,_

_my soul it died from your love._

_You're bringing these plagues on me,_

_you brought me to my knees with your love."_

_- Pentatonix, Natural Disaster_

* * *

_"That's right, Maeve Scarlet. You're finally getting your revenge." Simon grinned at me, and his excitement was so contagious that somehow he had me smiling, as well. The carriage we had stolen was bumping along on a dirt road through a seemingly endless forest, and I was sitting across from the boy I loved, on the way to reap the vengeance I had sought out for decades. All in all, things seemed pretty good._

_"It'll be fine," Simon reassured me for the thousandth time, smiling softly and pressing a kiss to my forehead comfortingly - which he probably should not have done, considering that his kisses were so distracting to me, and distraction was exactly what I wanted at the moment. So the platonic forehead-kiss became a kiss on the lips, which quickly escalated to Simon slowly undoing the laces on the back of my corset, peppering icy kisses along my jaw. _

_"We probably shouldn't," I managed through the barrage of Simon's cold fingertips and lips. _

_He laughed softly against my collarbone, and I could feel the laugh resonate through his ribcage. "I thought you liked taking risks?" he whispered into my hair, and I smiled softly. This was what I wanted - no, _needed_ - the rest of my life to be like: just me and Simon, together, kissing in inappropriate hiding spots and wielding chaos like a well-crafted weapon. _

_"What're you thinking about?" he asked curiously, brushing his cold lips across my cheek in something that was more caress than kiss. His hands were wrapped tightly around my waist, his fingers digging into my skin. _

_"Just . . . things," I replied dismissively, running my hands through his curly brown hair before I began trailing my lips along the side of his neck, breathing him in: pine sap and clean air, Simon always smelled so much like the forest he had apparently spent so much of his life in. _

_"What kind of things?" he continued, pulling me even closer and running his hands along my bare shoulders; he had successfully untied my corset, and was currently discarding the ridiculous thing onto the floor of the carriage. _

_"I don't know," I said with a laugh as Simon's hands moved from my shoulders down to my legs, trailing roughly underneath my thighs. I laughed again, a soft sound that I breathed into his shirt. "You're quite distracting, Simon Welles."_

_"Am I?" he whispered back, a smirk playing on his lips as he pressed a kiss onto the patch of skin just above my collarbone, sending thrills racing up my spine. _

_"Definitely," I said, stretching up to kiss him firmly on the lips again. "But I can be quite the distraction myself, darling." _

* * *

"This is kind of the epitome of awkward," Ruby remarked.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, taking a sip of tea and following her gaze across the diner. "But it's kind of necessary, isn't it? We have to make sure he behaves himself."

Ruby and I were, as bizarre as it sounded, chaperoning Belle and Rumple's first real date in the human world. The couple was sitting at a booth in the middle of the diner, people casting them bewildered and unpleasant glances as they passed them by. Rumple had been incredibly well-behaved: he'd held her hand as they came inside, explained the concept of cheeseburgers to her as patiently as possible, and hadn't turned anyone into insect larvae. So far, so good.

"Are you sure she doesn't mind?" I asked for the third time, and Ruby nodded enthusiastically. I wasn't sure how much I could trust her word on the subject, however, given how involved in my love life she used to be.

"She's totally fine with it," Ruby assured me, pouring three mugs of coffee and gracefully placing them all on a tray before flouncing off, not spilling a drop and somehow doing it in six-inch heels. I occasionally thought that my best friend was more magical than half the town put together.

"Whatever you say," I muttered before taking another long sip of tea. Suddenly, Regina stalked into the diner and over to Rumple and Belle's table, where she planted her hands firmly on the tabletop and began speaking quietly and intently to Rumple. I leapt off of my barstool and strode over.

"What's going on?" I demanded. The moment she heard my voice Regina whirled around, her brown eyes filled with . . . no, it couldn't be. Was Regina Mills panicking about something? That world must have been coming to an end.

"Nothing," she said shortly, attempting to shoo me away. "Just some business." Behind her, Rumple nodded in agreement; only Belle looked nervous about saying something, her blue eyes giving away her reluctance to speak.

"Well, as you can see, Ms Mills, they're kind of on a date," I said flatly. Regina opened her mouth to argue but Rumple cut her off quickly, saying, "Yes, I believe we are. But this business will take but a moment." He turned and said a hasty apology to Belle before gesturing to the diner's front door. "A moment outside, Ms Mills?" And he and Regina walked out of Granny's.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked Belle. The girl shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, and took a sip of her iced tea. I sighed and walked back over to the counter where Ruby was standing, staring in confusion at the door.

"You know anything about that?" I asked, nodding towards the window where Regina and Rumple were talking outside; they both looked uneasy, which made me very nervous. "I think they're finally getting along, to some degree."

"Thank God," Ruby remarked. "Then there won't be any disasters to distract you tomorrow."

I glanced up at her over the rim of my mug, eyebrows raised questioningly. "And what exactly is tomorrow?"

Ruby twisted a dishcloth in her hands before blurting out, "The Harrington party, obviously, and you said you'd go, although I have no idea why you agreed, and you already have an outfit worked out, even if I don't totally approve of it, so we kind of need to make sure that nothing bad happens so that we can have a girls' night 'cause I really need one right about now, okay?" She said all of this very fast, and looked as though she thought I might explode from her statement. Instead of erupting like Vesuvius, I calmly took a sip of tea and said, "No."

Ruby seemed annoyed. "What do you mean, no? I already told them you'd come!"

"Ruby, I already have enough crap to deal with." She cringed at the mention of my various issues, considering that she was the only one aware of the murder I had committed just forty-eight hours previously. "I'm not going to some stupid party where I won't be wanted and don't even know anybody."

"Please, everybody knows everybody in this town," she said dismissively, waving the dishcloth around. "That's a stupid reason, and you know it. Maeve Scarlet you are coming, and you are going to have a great time, and that it the end of it." Ruby walked back into the kitchen then, before I had a chance to argue, and I sighed heavily before gently banging my forehead onto the counter in despair. A party? Was she serious?

The door of the diner suddenly burst open and in came Henry, sprinting across the room like a hyper squirrel and leaping up into the seat next to mine. "Hey, kid."

"Hi," he said, grinning from ear to ear. I wasn't a hundred percent sure why the kid was freaking out, but I did know that he was probably about to tell me in excruciating detail, so I gave the word for him to begin.

"What's up?"

"Well, Snow and Emma are alive and I contacted this woman through my dreams, which is really cool, and they're okay! Snow and Emma are okay!" He was practically shouting it, but I still couldn't really comprehend the sentence at first.

"Alive? Snow and Emma are alright?" I repeated, baffled. Henry nodded, still beaming like a little kid on Christmas morning, and a small began to creep up the corners of my lips as well. "I knew it."

"No, you didn't," Henry said with a shrug. "But that's okay. They'll forgive you for not having any faith in them whatsoever."

I was slightly insulted, but more amused, by the kid's audacity. "No faith? Who gave you and David pep talks on them coming home every other day, when you lot were giving up hope?" Henry said nothing, just blushed. I smiled to myself as I took a celebratory sip of tea. "That's right."

* * *

_With a sigh of disappointment, Simon roughly pushed himself off of me and sat back down on the seat opposite mine; we were nearing the manor house in the countryside that he had arranged for the Queen of Hearts to be at. _

_He pulled his shirt back on, and I picked up my fallen corset with a cringe of disgust. "Remind me again what our cover is?"_

"_You and I are the delightful Lady and Lord Brompton of Westershire," Simon said promptly, and smirked at me. "Lady Brompton is a beautiful, intelligent, witty young woman who greatly enjoys archery, exacting revenge on evil queens and when Lord Brompton is on top and does the –''_

"_Shut up!" I said, although I was not all that annoyed; nonetheless, I whacked Simon with my corset before attempting to wrap it properly around my torso to lace the damnable thing up._

"_You know," he remarked, watching me struggle with the undergarment. "Hitting a man with your corset can be something of a turn-on, my dear Lady Scarlet." I rolled my eyes in disgust and, for good measure, whacked him on the shoulder with my corset again. "You sure about that?"_

_Simon tilted his head to one side, regarding me quizzically as if actually considering my question. "Yes, I'm sure. Here, let me just –'' He reached over and began expertly lacing the corset up my back, his cold fingertips brushing carefully over my bare skin and sending tingles along my spine. I leaned backwards and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head as he continued to fix my unsuccessfully-tied underclothes. _

"_I love you," he whispered into my ear as I sat forwards, my hand running longingly across his arm as I pulled away._

"_I love you," I whispered back. We never really exclaimed things like that: "I love you" was a phrase said sparingly between Simon and I, as if we could use up our share of saying it. But I did adore when he said it; soft and slowly, as carefully as he said my real name. It was the kind of sound that made me think perhaps the world was not as cruel and horrible as I used to believe it to be. The kind of sound that made you think about infinite possibilities._

_The carriage came to a shuddering halt just as I managed to slip my dress' sleeves onto my shoulders, and Simon swung the door open, letting in a gust of balmy spring air. The sun shone down on the rather impressive manor house, and we stepped out onto the cobblestones, Simon handing the coachman a pouch of stolen gold pieces. _

_I turned to look up at the house, where I knew I could finally enact the one thing I had craved for over twenty years. Simon wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed a kiss to my cheek reassuringly. "It'll be fine," he said softly as the carriage sped off._

_We began our walk up the manor house's drive._

* * *

_"Where do you think she is?" I asked curiously. Simon and I had been sitting in the garden behind the house for almost half an hour, but the Queen of Hearts had not made an appearance yet. The woman was going to be late to her own assassination. _

_"Maybe she's just late," Simon said dismissively, plucking a strawberry from a plate. It was odd: the garden was immaculate, with every flower in bloom and the air on the warm side of autumn. There was a glass table and plush seats, as well, in the center of the vast gardens, tea already set out ready to serve. Someone had been there organising it. There was no way in hell that she was just 'late'._

_"I don't like it," I said with a slight frown. "It's just . . . a bad feeling."_

_"Are you really going to give up on your revenge just because of some silly feeling?" Simon asked in disbelief; if I had been thinking straight at the time, I might have noticed the desperate edge to his voice. But I hadn't been focused on Simon's voice, only the nervousness that made my fingers twitch restlessly. I was armed only with my twin daggers, one concealed in my bodice and one in a leather sheath around my thigh. Inconvenient places, but the only ones available with a formal gown on._

_"Give it a minute," Simon said, noticing my impatience. I shook my head, confusion making my thoughts jumbled and dizzying. "She should be here by now."_

_"Oh, she would," said a voice from behind me. "If she were coming, that is."_

_I whipped around, startled, to see Regina Mills standing in the entrance to the section of cobblestoned ground in a black gown that I deemed a bit grand for a meagre threatening. She strode forwards, her heels clacking on the stones as she approached Simon and I. Almost instinctively, I moved to stand in front of him._

_"What the hell do you want?" I asked, not bothering to disguise the venom in my voice. Regina took one look at my determined expression and burst out laughing, the sound surprisingly pleasant and echoing throughout the gardens._

_"What do I want?" she asked, stifling her mirth. "Well, I thought that was fairly obvious: you, in chains." She flicked her wrist and a branch grew from the nearest hedge, preparing to wrap around my legs; I scurried out of the way and grabbed Simon's hand. He had not moved during Regina's entrance, but my touch spurred him to run with me through the seemingly endless maze of garden._

_"Come on," I panted as we turned a corner, slowing to a stop. I hated running away from Regina, but with Simon around she had far too much leverage where I was concerned. "I think we lost her for now. Let's just get out of here. Simon?"_

_Simon was standing stock-still, staring down into the path we had just come through. Footsteps could be heard coming from there, and I knew the Queen was on her way. "Come on, Simon, we don't have time for this!"_

_"You're right," he said, his voice detached. "You don't have time for this."_

_I took a step back, confused, and whispered, "Simon? What the hell are you on about? We have to go!" When he said nothing, I moved closer and twined my fingers with his. "Simon, she will kill the both of us. Please, let's go!" I felt a tear of desperation leak out of the corner of my eye and wiped it away stubbornly, still tugging on my love's hand; he did not move._

_Then he turned to face me and a smile crept across his face - a smile that reminded me horribly of when he was preparing to attack our prey. "Oh, darling Maeve," he said softly, although his tone was not loving but mocking. "I'm afraid that won't be happening."_

_Suddenly, vines erupted from everywhere around me and wrapped tightly around my frame, encasing me in an inescapable prison. Simon took a step back, untwining our fingers, still grinning maniacally. Regina came striding into the small space, her smile as big as Simon's._

_"At long last," she said, walking slowly over to me; I struggled insistently against the vines, but they were strong and nearly squeezed the air from my lungs. "The elusive Lady Scarlet. Incredibly well done, by the way," she added, glancing over her shoulder at Simon with a dazzling smile. "Couldn't have done this better myself."_

_I was beyond confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"Ingenious, really," Regina continued, ignoring me entirely. "Telling her that she would be coming to enact her revenge. I assume you understood how important that little detail was?" Simon nodded once, watching me with a wickedness gleaming in his soft brown eyes._

_"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, incensed by Regina's ignoring my question. I needed answers, and I needed them as soon as possible. _

_"Aren't we impatient?" Regina said mockingly, stepping closer and running a long fingernail along my chin, forcing my head up to meet her intense gaze. "Your little friend here is not at all what he seems, Maeve dear. Perhaps you should learn never to trust someone you met on the side of the road."_

_My eyes widened at this statement as I stared at the pair of them in shock and terror. "No."_

_"Yes," Regina replied, smirking. "If you could see your face . . . Lady Scarlet, brought down by a pair of pretty brown eyes. That is what you found the prettiest about him, isn't it? I believe you told him a few months ago." _

_I couldn't believe it - I wouldn't. Simon, betraying me? Simon, pretending to be in love with me? Simon, sending letters back to the daughter of my one true enemy in this world, telling her all about his progress in fooling me? Simon, manipulating me, lying to me, turning me over . . . to Regina? It was impossible. Completely, utterly impossible. And yet . . . _

_"No," I said aloud, although my voice was weak and shaking with fear. This could not be real, could it? Could I simply be dreaming?_

_"You said you loved me," I whispered, fighting back the prickling behind my eyes; I would not cry in front of Regina Mills. Not ever. I would rather be decapitated in front of her than cry. _

_"Get it through your damn head," Simon snapped, sounding exasperated. "I tricked you, Maeve darling. I strung you along - it was fairly easy, by the way - and I pretended. It was all for this," he added, holding up a gleaming medallion. "Purest gold in the land, forged by the first generation of dwarves . . . worth a fortune, maybe two."_

_"But you said it." I still was not grasping the situation, my mind still negating the entire thing, refusing to believe a single moment of it. "You said you loved me."_

_Simon laughed. "God, you never used to be this dense. _I lied_, Maeve. I do that quite often." He rolled his eyes at my stricken expression, as if he found this entire conversation rather tedious now that his great revelation was over. "I'll say this once more, to make sure that you're really getting it: I never loved you, Maeve Scarlet. I was never in love with you. I will never be in love with you."_

_"But you . . ." I choked on the words: you promised. It was weak, it was horrifying, but tears had begun to fall, streaming down my face and dripping down onto the vines that held me captive of the two people I wanted to see least in the world._

* * *

_I sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. Deep breath, exhale. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It was almost calming, helped me to focus. That was necessary when being tortured by a maniacal servant of an eviller queen._

_"Tell me, for God's sake!" The man before me sounded almost defeated, which was odd considering where I was and where he was. He dragged the tip of the knife along my cheek again, the blade leaving a stinging gash across the already-battered flesh. The knife then went hilt-deep into my thigh; I pressed my lips together, refusing to give any sound that admitted the agony that was shooting through me. _

_"What is wrong with you?" he demanded, squinting suspiciously at me. The torturer knew I was magic, knew I could heal myself incredibly well - yet he was still baffled by my ability to keep my mouth shut while being slowly shredded to bits. It seemed like insanity, but I was becoming frustrated with my torturer. I had requested a different one twice so far, but to no result. Perhaps he was the only one in the kingdom. If so, that was a sad reflection on the profession._

_He pulled the knife out - slowly, of course - and deposited it on a table in the corner of the dank cell with a heavy sigh. It joined a cluster of various weapons that had been unsuccessful on me thus-far: among them were my own daggers, a barb-edged whip and a series of sewing needles whose purpose was one even I found repulsive._

_"And, onto the next one," he said, picking up a serrated blade about the size and style of a katana. He glanced from the sword to me and back again, as if debating whether or not it would have any real affect. "I hate my job," he muttered, and plunged it hilt-deep into my stomach._

_I reeled back, shocked; he hadn't tried anything quite that drastic yet. Unprepared for the pain that struck me like a bolt of lightning, I bit my bottom lip to keep from screaming out. I thought I had split my lip until I realised that the blood I tasted was from the two-foot-long sword sticking out of my stomach. Go figure._

_The torturer leaned down to study my face. He straightened after a moment, said, "I'm going to lunch," and walked out of the cell, leaving me to hopefully heal myself of this typically-fatal wound. _

"_Bloody hell!" I cursed, staring down at the katana embedded in my torso. My hands chained tightly to the wall behind me, just above my head, I couldn't remove the blade, and it hurt like hell, feeling as if flames were crawling around inside of me. _

"_Hurts, doesn't it?" a familiar voice said from the doorway of the cell. "I can only imagine what agonizing terrors Martin has concocted for Lady Scarlet. It's a special occasion around here, I'm telling you. Someone actually hung banners out to celebrate." My head snapped up at the voice, a sudden sadness seizing me and fear following suit._

_Simon was standing in the doorway of the cell, Regina Mills right behind him. The moment I saw him there fear gripped every fibre of my being and I looked down to the frigid stone floor of the dungeon as the former love of my life and the daughter of my only true enemy walked towards me. I was weaponless, tied up, defenceless. I was afraid._

"_He has created some interesting methods for this particular event," Regina said, her regal voice holding a bit of disappointment. "But none of it seems to be working all that well. I'm beginning a search for a more adequate person of his trade."_

"_Oh, I don't know," Simon remarked, and I noticed him leaning down to examine the blade in my stomach from my peripheral vision. "I'd say this is one hell of an idea. I assume you've given her some magic to heal?" He lightly tapped the hilt, shifting it inside of me and sending shockwaves of pain throughout my torso with every miniscule movement. Still I refused to make a single sound. _

"_Yes," Regina replied, and I could feel her stare on the back of my neck, which was what she saw with my head facing the floor directly below me. "Magic, of course. Just a bit of something to keep her abilities up and working. And yet, as fascinating as Martin's methods are, every one so far has been entirely useless. She's in pain – we can tell that much – but she hasn't even screamed, never mind told us anything."_

_Simon straightened up and said something to Regina, so quietly that I could not overhear. Then the click of heels alerted me to the queen's absence – and Simon's remaining presence. I still did not look up, even when he began pacing absently back and forth in front of me._

"_Maeve, darling," he said softly. When I did not move, he said it again, harsher. "Maeve!" He reached down, stopping to stand in front of me and tilting my chin up, his fingernails digging into the skin beneath my jaw. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, love. It'll make everything much easier if we simply remain civil." The iron chains around my wrists burned, but I barely noticed the pain as he gently ran a hand along my cheek, pressing his lips to my collarbone; his touch scalded me far worse than any magic._

_I jerked away from him, ignoring the sting as his nails scraped my skin. "Don't touch me," I hissed, anger taking over me. It had not made much of an appearance during my stay in Regina's dungeon, but the moment Simon appeared: it was back, and thriving._

"_You weren't saying that a few days ago," he said with a smirk that scratched not at my skin but at something inside of me, something that felt as if it were slowly dying inside of me with every word Simon spoke. "Haven't made a sound, have you? Honestly, Maeve, you're making me look bad. I promised Regina that you were quite the screamer, and now look at you." _

_I reeled back from his touch at these words, that dying thing inside my chest taking another fatal blow. So far, it had taken more fatal blows than I could count. "Stay away from me," I said, although my voice lacked the conviction the statement needed so desperately. Despite everything – the betrayal, the torture, the sickening taunts – despite it all, I still loved him. _

_Or wanted to, at least. I wanted to leave the dungeon, escape somewhere else with Simon Welles by my side, have him kiss me like he used to, softly on the forehead; wanted him to hold my hand when I woke from a nightmare, wanted him to toss me that contagious smile beside a campfire again. I wanted to go back to the beginning to everything, wanted it so badly that it hurt. _

_But we don't always get what we want, do we?_

"_Bet I could," he whispered, leaning down until our faces were inches apart. The urge to kiss him was overwhelming, to try and see if the boy I had fallen in love with was still somewhere inside of this taunting demon who had stolen his face. _

"_Bet I could get you to scream again," he continued, trailing his fingertips along my bare arm; most of me was bare, due to the ruined tatters my clothes were in. Goosebumps erupted along my arm where he touched it, still as cold as I remembered. "I could do it, Maeve." He brushed his lips across my collarbone, whispering into my skin. "I could get you to scream couldn't I? We both know I could. We both know how."_

_Then he pulled away suddenly, letting out a dark laugh as he stared down at me in amusement. "Oh, naïve little Maeve. You think you know about people? About surviving?" He laughed again, and the sound struck me like a slap across the face. "You don't know anything."_

"_Simon," came a voice from the shadows. Regina remerged, attempting to hide a grin. "Show the girl a bit of mercy. If not that, then some pity. God knows she hates that." Regina was right: pity was one thing that I had always despised. It meant weakness, that I was low enough to be pitied. But this time, one time, I would have taken pity; it would have been a blessing to know that the boy I had loved and still loved would be able to pity me still, take mercy on the heart he had just beaten bloody._

_No such pity was given, however. Simon simply gave me a quick once-over before turning and walking out of the cell. As I heard his strides echo down the hall, I could have sworn that every footstep was a kick to my chest._

_He was gone._

_Regina met my gaze, her eyes gleaming wickedly as she noticed the few tears that leaked out of the corner of my eyes, hot and painful. "Lady Scarlet, reduced to tears by a common thief," she said with a sigh of mock disappointment. "I'm almost impressed with that boy's abilities. If he wasn't such an arrogant ingrate, I might just consider offering him a job."_

_I glanced away from the queen, in no mood for her games. But Regina was persistent, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look her in the eye. "Tell me where it is, and it ends," she said, her voice cold. She didn't care if I took her deal or not; she only cared about the information, and somehow getting it out of me. "Where is the curse?"_

_"I don't know," I hissed; Regina backhanded me across the face and I reeled back, dazed from the blow. Wiping a trickle of blood from my lip onto my mostly-bare shoulder, I looked back up at her through a tangle of strawberry-blonde hair. "I don't know. That's what I've been telling you for the past two days, Regina, I don't know! Delphine didn't have the damn curse, so why are you asking me?"_

_"You know where it is, though," she insisted, and I let out a sigh of disgust that got me another slap across the face._

_"I don't know where the Dark Curse is," I said, enunciating slowly and clearly. "I have never laid eyes on the curse, I don't know where it is, Delphine never had it, and I cannot help you. If you're so hell-bent on finding this thing, ask Rumplestiltskin. Isn't it his job to know this stuff?"_

_"No," she said stubbornly, shaking her head. "I will not go to that imp for help."_

_"Imp?" said a rasping voice from the doorway of the cell. "That's a bit rude, isn't it, Your Majesty?" _

_Regina and I both glanced up in astonishment as Rumplestiltskin walked into the cell, frowning reproachfully at the queen. "Regina, dear, you know how I hate to see my old pupils fighting," he said, like a schoolteacher reprimanding a child. Regina looked taken aback by his address, to put it mildly. _

_He stepped further into the room, eyeing Regina with an air of mock-disappointment, while the queen attempted to remain dignified. Rumple tossed me a small wink when his old student averted her gaze, switching to the respectful and polite tactic. Needless to say, she wasn't particularly good at it. _

_"It has been some time, Dark One," Regina said, curtseying towards her former master - something I thought I would never see. "What brings you to my kingdom?"_

_Rumple was unimpressed with Regina's attempts at civility. "Like I said," he replied with a quick eye roll, before pointing at me with one long, thin finger. "I've come for her. I don't like it when my former pupils fight - there is enough of me to go around, dearies." I reeled back from him in disgust, and Regina gave him an annoyed glance that silently demanded the true intention of his visit._

_"I'm telling you the truth, dearie," he said. "I want her freed. Now."_

_"Why?" Regina asked, as stubborn as she always was. Rumple used to say he liked stubbornness in his students; I supposed that that ended rather quickly after he taught Regina. "What would you gain from the half-breed's freedom?"_

"_I don't know," Rumple replied, glancing down at me; I glared back up at the man who had tricked me all those years ago. "Perhaps amusement at seeing you lose the object of your pursuit? That would be quite nice, wouldn't it?" Regina said nothing, only glared at the imp along with me. It may have been the one thing we were united in - although I didn't like to think about being united in anything with Regina Mills. _

"_You want me to just . . . set her free?" the queen said, sounding bewildered. I was confused as well, but in less of a mood to question Rumple's motives. I wanted out of the cell; out of that place where for too much had happened. After Simon, I just needed to run and hide and spend time rebuilding my walls, which had been far too easily torn down. _

"_Set her free and I will give you anything you desire - the very thing you desire." His voice was heavy with implications but, for the first time in a long time, I didn't care to know any of the Dark One's deceitful plots. I simply wanted to get the hell out of Regina's dungeons and away from the pain that ate away at my chest like white-hot flames._

"_The thing I desire?" Regina echoed, her interest sparked; I was very familiar with that look in her eyes. Many people said that she greatly resembled her mother, and I often thought them to be stupid or blind. But when she had that glimmer of greed in her dark eyes, I could see it. They were exactly alike, in every way possible._

"_Yes," Rumple replied, sounding beyond exasperated. He snapped his fingers and from a puff of purple smoke (that I thought was all too showy) appeared a small scroll of parchment that he unrolled to present to Regina. The queen's red-painted lips stretched into a broad smile at the sight of whatever the Dark One had on the parchment. I did not want to know what could possibly put a smile like that on the evil queen's face._

"_There are details concerning it on the parchment," Rumple continued, placing the now-closed scroll in Regina's hand. "Guard it with your life, dearie – it's worth about the same." He then turned to me and flicked his wrist: the chains around me sprung free, and I warily rubbed my wrists. Rumple had essentially promised me a clean escape, and I wasn't really in the position to be questioning free escape routes. But I had known him long enough to be well aware of his impossible prices. So I remained cautiously on the floor of that forsaken dungeon, despite my freedom being dangled inches from my nose. _

_"Well?" Rumple said, clearly wanting me to leave he and Regina in absolute privacy; whatever was on that parchment must have been powerful, as the queen was not even looking at me anymore. She had eyes only for the parchment and its bearer. "Don't you have some sort of revenge to enact, Lady Scarlet?" I could tell from his tone that he knew something I did not, which made me both curious and annoyed. _

_"Perhaps," I replied ambiguously, attempting to keep most of the frustration out of my voice. I longed to stay, to learn the secrets of that mysterious parchment. But, upon second thought, upsetting the Dark One only sounded like a good way of getting myself killed. So, without another word, I stood and marched out of the queen's dungeons, anger and pain and sadness all mixing inside of me like poison. _

_A very persuasive poison. _

* * *

"Why was I not told about this?" I demanded, striding into the backroom of Rumple's pawnshop, Henry trailing close after me and looking a bit worried.

Regina glanced up at me from a table covered in an odd assortment of crystals, liquids, and alchemical equipment. She had a pestle and mortar out on the table, and was crushing a few tiny, transparent crystals inside of it before tapping the glittering dust into a measuring phial of some sort. Potions had never really been an area of expertise for me.

"Told of what?" she asked, looking both confused and condescending, which was what really ticked me off – which, of course, was why I started yelling in the first place. The yelling could definitely be blamed on Regina.

"Of – well, everything?!" I exclaimed furiously. Henry cringed, but said nothing to stop me. "Of Henry having nightmares, going to some secret Netherworld because of your stupid sleeping curse and finding out that that Netherworld is very bloody real! Of contacting Snow and Emma through that Netherworld, knowing for certain that they were alive! That this eleven-year-old kid was risking his damn life to talk to some sleeping princess! And that know you're doing your Evil Queen act, preparing to off yet another member of my ever-shrinking family!"

I frowned a bit at my casual use of the word 'family'; it had been quite some time since I had called anyone aside from Izzy or my mother family. But if I really had to think about it, the Charmings were my family: Snow was one of my few real friends, David one of my only true allies. Even Emma, who I didn't know all that well, I was fairly close with. Whether I liked it or not, these people were in my family now, and I wasn't getting rid of them any time soon.

"I'm not killing David," Regina retorted, her voice tight with anger; I knew from experience that she didn't like to be yelled at, especially by me. "What I'm doing is going to benefit all of us, as well as save Snow and Emma's lives in the process. So perhaps you should thank me before you start killing me."

"Thank you?' I repeated in disbelief, my eyebrows flying to my hairline. Regina simply nodded and turned back to making the curse for David. Henry glanced nervously between the two of us before speaking again.

"Um . . . it smells weird," he said with a nose crinkled in disgust. I rolled my eyes at the kid, knowing he had only said something to calm his mother down and possibly remove the tension from the room. It seemed to be working, too, because Regina smiled softly at her son instead of murdering me.

"It's a curse, sweetie," she said, measuring out some crystal powder and dropping it carefully into the boiling potion. "It's not supposed to be pleasant."

"No," I quipped venomously over Henry's shoulder, peering intently at the ingredients. "It's supposed to be deadly." Regina tossed me a look which I promptly ignored; she could send avada kedavra my way and it wouldn't change a single bit of my feelings towards her - or my less-than-courteous ways of displaying those feelings.

"Maeve," Henry said, glancing up at me. "Do you want to go say goodbye to David?" For once the kid sounded sure of himself, as if he wasn't just suggesting; he was ordering me to leave, to let he and Regina have some privacy. Keep me from ripping out his mother's throat. Either way, I knew I wasn't welcome.

I stood, making my way out of the room to speak to David, when it happened; one moment I was standing there in the back of Rumple's shop, everything completely normal. The next moment I was in the middle of a forest, a knife in hand and my breathing laboured. Confusion flooded through me as I took in my surroundings, baffled by the sudden shift in - well, everything. Something moved in the bushes behind me and I whipped around to see Simon there, looking at me in terror.

"You got out?" he said quietly, his voice filled with horror. I noticed he was staring at my hand when I realised it was raised, the dagger gripped tightly in my fingers and the blade aimed at his heart.

"Maeve? Maeve!" My eyes snapped open; I was propped up against the wall in Rumple's shop, David and Henry standing before me, both of them looking worried. "We thought you'd fainted or something," Henry began, but I was already stumbling to my feet and out the front door of the pawnshop, not certain where I was going but fully aware that I would not enjoy it.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, this happened.**

**See y'all at the next update! Simon's death is still to come, as well as the Harrington party. So stay tuned and farewell, my lovelies! :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo**


	31. The Harrington Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT (sadly). Only my OCs and any ideas or plots I've come up with (ie. the entire Maeve/Simon ordeal). Enjoy the update! :)**

* * *

_"The fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress,_

_Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest._

_The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound,_

_I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground."_

_- Florence & the Machine, Howl_

* * *

I stumbled blindly through the woods outside town, my head pounding with an oncoming headache and nausea making my vision spin. Everything passed me in a whirlwind of greens and shadows. I was certain that I was about to be sick.

Meanwhile, Simon's taunting voice echoed around the forest, laughing and whispering terribly familiar words in my ears: "I love you" was prominently featured. I knew it wasn't real, knew that every sound and every shiver-inducing touch along my skin was all in my head; but it felt real. It felt so real.

Time passed strangely in my confused haze. I could not be certain if minutes had passed, or hours; all I knew was that, when my entire body ached from the aimless wandering and every inch of me shook in terror from the phantom's assault, I finally collapsed to my knees. The forest surrounding me was entirely unfamiliar, but I took little notice of this as I dropped to lie on the ground. The dead leaves and soil were cold against my cheek as I lay there, staring into the banks of morning mist that drifted over everything - it must have been morning.

Then I closed my eyes, and sank gratefully into the abyss of unconsciousness.

* * *

_I had not even intended to take the route. I had stopped, considered going in the other direction. The distance would have been shorter, the walk to the nearest town much quicker. But I needed to put as much space between Regina's dungeon and myself as possible; I needed the space to mourn my loss, because that was what it was. I had lost a part of myself back there, any shred of innocence I had left gone._

_So there I was, wandering down the forsaken route. I had no idea where I was going, what I would do; all I could focus on was getting away from Regina. Tears streamed down my face, silent but constant, and my vision was blurred by them. The road before me looked like a grey river, pulling me along downstream, my feet moving without my own command._

_Not a single carriage passed by me, which I was perfectly fine with; I did not relish in the idea of being discovered by any townsfolk under normal circumstances. Like this, crying and heartbroken? That would be my final downfall, the last straw to truly destroy my dignity. I swiped at my cheeks, scrubbing my face free of the salty tears that still dripped down onto the collar of my tunic. I glanced down at my clothes, which were just as tattered as they had been when I left the dungeons. The garments were barely clinging to my frame, revealing more skin than even I was used to. I noticed absently how cold it made me, walking in the early morning in such attire; but the dull ache in my chest made everything else seem insignificant._

_The road turned suddenly into the forest, the dim sunrise growing even fainter through the canopy of trees. They blocked the light, leaving me to wander in the shadows of the morning. I resisted the urge to cry anymore and continued on, my footsteps becoming heavier the further I marched. There was only walking to do, leaving my thoughts to dance about in my mind like venomous serpents, all of them poised to strike._

_He never loved you, Maeve, a voice said quietly in the back of my mind. I tried to swat it away, but it returned and added, He tricked you. He lied to you. He needs to pay for it._

_I shook my head, ignoring the voice. Simon may have been many things - a lying, manipulative bastard being one of them - but he did not need to pay in the way I knew the voice meant. I would not kill him; I highly doubted that, after everything we had been through together, I was even capable of the act. Handing Simon Welles his death . . . the mere idea seemed unthinkable to me, sending a repulsed shudder down my spine._

_Look what he did to you! The voice had returned, accompanied by more. He lied to you, told you he loved you! And you loved him back. You loved him back, Maeve, and he handed you over to the daughter of your one true enemy in this world! He betrayed you!_

_I won't do it, I thought stubbornly. I will not kill Simon Welles._

_Just as I rounded the corner, however, something came into view: a carriage, very familiar-looking. I peered at it, curiosity getting the better of me. It was clearly the carriage of a noble family, made of fine materials. But it was the coat of arms that decorated the side which interested me: a lion, roaring and twining a red ribbon between its paws. I had seen that crest before, recently._

_The carriage Simon and I stole. The one we had kissed in just a few days previously._

_And the boy sitting atop it, the one directing the horses, speeding back to a local town - the boy was one I knew well. Curly brown hair, a laugh that carried all the way back to where I stood. It was Simon._

_I stopped dead in my tracks, fear flooding me. Simon was only a few hundred yards ahead of me, laughing and riding a carriage back to town, probably ready to sell his gold medallion to retrieve his bloody fortune. Anger quickly followed the fear, as well as a myriad of other feelings that left a toxic mess of my mind._

_"Simon," I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying. Everything that had happened, everything that he had done . . . and somehow I still loved him. I still wanted to love him, which both made perfect sense and made me sick to my stomach. I should have hated him, wanted him dead, relished in his murder. But I couldn't._

_Purely on impulse, I began trailing after the carriage. Simon had not turned around yet, had no idea I was there. The horses clopped along at an average speed, meaning he had no idea of my escape. He did not know I was free from the prison he had locked me in._

_Holding my breath, I ran forwards and followed the carriage. It was insane - it would be hell if I was caught - but I could not let him leave without one last word. I had to talk to him, reason with him, get him to explain. If he could only tell me why he had lied, why he had betrayed me, I might have had closure. That was something I had never experienced and sorely needed._

_I tip-toed across the forest floor, an expertise Simon had trained me in. The carriage suddenly pulled to a stop on the side of the road and I hastily ducked behind a broad tree trunk, certain that I was hidden from view._

_I could hear Simon's footsteps on the dirt as he climbed off of the carriage and pulled something out of the back. Then the footsteps trailed off into the forest, away from me. I chanced a peek around the side of the tree trunk to see that he was hurried off into the woods, leaving the horses and carriage behind. The door to the carriage was open._

_So I followed._

* * *

I didn't open my eyes at first. When I woke, I kept them squeezed shut, refusing to relinquish my desperate hold on sleep. It had been blissful, such a long period of silent blankness. A bit like death, I assumed, but peaceful nonetheless.

"Maeve? Oh God, Maeve." Someone was talking right next to my ear, and I had half a mind to tell them to shut up and let me keep sleeping. I didn't want to wake up, to go back to that world of nightmares and visions and memories. I needed that blank abyss, that safe haven in the back of my mind where I could hide from all of that. Where I could forget.

"Maeve, wake up!" They shook me by the shoulders and I figured that they weren't going to leave me alone. So I slowly sat up, blinking my eyes open only as late as possible. I was looking at Ruby, who was sitting in a chair. For a moment I wondered vaguely why there was a chair in the middle of the forest, when I realised that we weren't in the forest: we were in my living room, at home. I carefully breathed in the smell of the sofa, which was something akin to mothballs and laundry detergent. I had never been happier to smell that.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked, although the answer to that questions seemed a tad obvious. I shrugged, sitting up and sliding my legs over the side of the couch. My best friend's eyes were brimming with worry, which disappeared as soon as I cracked a small smile. "I'm fine."

She engulfed me in a hug, grinning. "Oh, thank God," she said, pulling away. "We found you this morning - I'm finally getting good at tracking - and you were just lying there." Her smiled slipped away, and worry returned to cloud her expression. "You were freezing. We thought that you might've -"

"Ruby," I said, shaking my head. "I'm fine. Trust me, I'm fine." That was the biggest lie I had ever told her. As the words left my mouth, I considered telling her about Simon's ghost haunting me. I considered explaining that I was slowly losing my mind, every bit of my sanity being chased away by visions of every awful memory I still had.

But I said nothing.

* * *

_He was leaning over the base of a tree trunk when I was within ten feet of him. Digging a hole in the ground with his hands, Simon slid a small object wrapped in cloth into the hole and began smothering the space with soil._

_As he straightened up, his back still to me, I managed a whisper. "Simon?"_

_He froze, every muscle stiffening in what was probably shock; I was the last person he would have wanted to see. Very slowly, Simon turned around, his warm brown eyes wide and almost frightened. "Maeve." His voice was toneless, detached. I took this as a sign that perhaps he had not wanted to leave me there with Regina. Perhaps he regretted it. Perhaps he -_

_"Why aren't you dead?" That question wiped out any of my hope, leaving behind nothing but pain. He wanted me dead? After everything, he did not care if Regina took off my head and hung it on her wall?_

_"No, I'm not," I said, my voice thick and scratchy. I did not want to speak, did not want to reveal any sort of weakness. I knew Simon, and I knew his tricks: jumping on the first sign of insecurity was his constant tactic. "I'm not," I repeated, clearing my throat. "Why?"_

_For a moment, I considered the idea of him denying it. Denying that he wanted me dead, denying everything. Telling me he still loved me, and asking me to come with him, telling me that we would run away and never look back to Regina or Cora or anything ever again. And, for a moment, I knew I would have said yes. Despite what he had done, even he had never truly loved me before - I would have said yes. I was not certain if that fact terrified me or disgusted me. Perhaps it was a bit of both._

_Then he smirked, his eyes glittering with malice. "It would've been so much easier. If you were dead, Maeve, then we wouldn't have the problem of me taking you back to Regina. My orders were to bring you to the Queen, and I follow my orders."_

_He took a step towards me, but I took a step back, unsheathing one of the knives I had taken from his open carriage. Simon glanced from the blade to my face and I noticed his cheeks pale a bit. "Maeve, is this really necessary?" His voice was beginning to show fear, which sent a rush of disgust and triumph through me. I did not want Simon to be afraid of me - I loved him, for God's sake. But he wanted me dead. He had betrayed me in the worst possible way. Making his fear me, feel such apprehension in my presence . . . it was liberating, in a way._

_"Did you love me?" I asked, my voice growing thick again. I swallowed against the lump in my throat, terrified of revealing any sadness. The nostalgia building up inside of me made my chest ache, but I ignored it as I slowly approached the boy I loved._

_"Maeve," he began, but I shook my head once. Once was enough._

_"Did you love me?" I repeated, adamant this time. He would answer me, or he would die. It was as simple as that._

_Simon looked at me, his eyes filled with something I could not quite place; it was not pain, or sadness. It was . . . regret. Or perhaps that was my imagination, showing me what I so desperately wanted to see. Real or not real, the expression disappeared as quickly as it had come. Simon did not look remorseful or angry or even a bit triumphant - he looked scared. His eyes darted from me to the knife and back again so fast it made me dizzy to watch._

_"What're you going to do now?" he asked, trying to put as much superiority in his words as possible. I frowned, my grip on the knife tightening. Simon paled._

_"You haven't answered the question," I said, annoyance creeping into my voice. "Did. You. Love me? Ever?" The words hung heavy in the forest air, accompanied only by birds and Simon's palpable fear. It felt as though everything was hanging in the balance, everything at risk. If he answered my question, I knew I would not like the answer. And I was more terrified than he was of what I might do._

_"No." The word was whispered, the voice speaking it shaky. "But Maeve," Simon continued hastily. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I swear it, I didn't know Regina would torture you like that." His gaze traveled down my frame and I suddenly felt a bit self-conscious of my own lack of clothing. Then I remembered every time Simon and I had been alone, every time we had found ourselves in some secluded corner of the world, and the feeling vanished._

_He had manipulated me. He had gotten me to fall in love with him, a feat like no other, and had betrayed me to the daughter of the only person in any world I truly hated. He had wielded my love for him as a weapon, exactly as Rumplestiltskin so often spoke of: using love to destroy. He had delivered blow after blow after blow to my exposed heart, beaten it to the brink of total destruction._

_And now he wanted forgiveness? He wanted mercy? Lenience?_

_"No." I stepped forward, the dagger clutched in my hand. It was as if I was barely in control of my own body: my legs moved, pulling me forwards, and my hands prepared to grab him. Simon ran backwards, tripping over the mound of earth he had just dug up. I reared back and kicked him in the side, as hard as possible; there was the crack of bone underneath my foot, which ached from the blow._

_"Maeve," he said softly, in a tone that was all too familiar to me. I had heard it every time I talked to him of my old life, of my dreams and nightmares. I had handed him my entire soul, given it to him of my own free will, trusted him with that. And he had betrayed me._

_"It's for the best," I said, my voice emotionless and distant. My mouth was a flat line, lips pressed together to keep from crying. "You betrayed me. You left me for dead." Simon scrambled to his feet, but I shoved him face-first into the tree trunk._

_I spun him around. I was not certain why I did this, although later I assumed I had just wanted him to see it. Wanted him to see the blade pierce his heart, shattering it as mine had been shattered. I held the blade high, poised to strike._

_"Goodbye, Simon Welles," I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks. The dagger was a metallic flash in the sunlight, and Simon's choked cry fell upon ears who did not want to listen._

_I kneeled there, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I let go of the dagger in his chest. His brown eyes were glassy and his body was still. My vision blurred, but I knew what I would have seen, had I looked for longer: pale skin, bloodstains along his tunic and a silent, unmoving chest. Just another corpse to add to the many I had seen._

_"It's for the best," I muttered, dazed as I began to curl in on myself. "It's for the best." My legs were tucked underneath me, and my hands trembled as I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the chest of the boy I once loved._

_"Simon."_

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. "I mean, you didn't want to go in the first place. If you're not feeling up to it -"

"No," I said, shaking my head adamantly. "I want to do this. I need to do this."

"Yes, you need to," a soft voice whispered mockingly in my ear. "Of course you do. You're already losing your mind, so why not add alcohol to the mix? Naturally, that'll end fine." I shivered, curling my fingernails into the flesh of my palm. Focus on the pain there, and perhaps the pain in my heart could be ignored.

"I need to," I repeated, as if to reassure myself. Ruby watched me for a long moment, looking as if she was debating about something. Then she sighed and stepped out of her car, her high heels clacking noisily on the pavement.

I sucked in a deep breath, steeling my nerves and preparing for the absolute worst. I had heard stories about this thing for years: Graham had hated it, Mary Margaret had hated it, even Regina had found it annoying. However, there I was with Ruby, getting ready to make my way inside the house that was lit up in the driveway before me.

The Harrington party.

In retrospect, I should've left. I should've grabbed Ruby, told her to get back in the car, and gone home. Made up some stupid excuse for not going. But, like the complete idiot that I am, I took one last deep breath, stepped out of the car, and went inside. I might as well have been signing my death warrant.

The phantom breathed down the back of my neck the entire walk up the driveway. The house was lit up like a Christmas tree, light flooding through the street and illuminating the curbs packed with cars. I could hear music and laughter from down the driveway, which gave me a small rush of relief; clearly it couldn't be that bad. And Ruby would never have agreed to let me go if we were in any danger. Graham's stories were probably exaggerated to the nth degree, and we were going to be fine.

Then I stepped inside.

Music blasted at me from every direction, and the entryway was packed tight with people. They were talking, laughing, dancing. Ruby was just ahead of me, and I swore to God that if I lost her in the crowd, I would never find her again. I bit my lip worriedly, just as Simon whispered in my ear, "Scared yet? I knew you would be."

I could hear his screams over the music and the people, piercing my chest as well as my ears. My heart racing, I sucked in a breath to calm myself and began wading through the crowd with determined strides. I would not let that stupid little imp ruin everything in my life; I wouldn't let him ruin anything at all, if I could. I wasn't scared.

I met Ruby in the doorway to what I assumed was the living room. Every piece of furniture was occupied, but it wasn't nearly as crowded in there as in the hallway. Ruby was scanning the faces of everyone in the room, probably to see if anyone had seen me yet and panicked. So far, it seemed that no one had noticed my presence – or maybe they just didn't care. I would've loved that.

"You sure you're okay?" Ruby asked, and I nodded adamantly. "Definitely." Except, of course, for the ghost following me everywhere I went.

Ruby's concern vanished and she beamed at me. "I know some people who want to meet you – specifically people of the opposite gender." I rolled my eyes, but continued glancing over the crowd. "You never know, Maeve. You could meet someone."

I shook my head. "I don't want to meet someone. I'm not looking for a date, Ruby – I'm looking for a distraction." That was the absolute truth of the matter: I needed something to take any thought of Simon from my mind. Having Ruby as a best friend, I was aware how much a good make-out session and a dash of alcohol could relieve stress - for one night, at least. One night. With the insanity, my mind slowly spiralling into madness, ghosts from my past coming back to haunt me, and remembering that pretty much everyone in town hated me, I needed that one night.

I was feeling incredibly reckless, and sating that recklessness was the only thing on my mind.

Glancing over the room once more, I spotted a table in the next room where someone was pouring drinks. Ruby following me, I strode over with that reckless confidence radiating from me.

The guy pouring drinks was recognizably one of the Harrington brothers - the middle child, I thought. I had known him during the curse: he was nice enough. He was tall, with a baseball cap shoved in the back pocket of his jeans. It looked as if playing bartender had been a last-minute decision, although he didn't seem too disappointed about it. He half-smiled at Ruby and I as we approached, and we smiled back.

"Jon," Ruby said, throwing the guy's name out there; thankfully, because I could never have remembered it. Jon nodded at her in greeting, and gestured to a shelf of liquor behind him. "Go ahead. I'm just guarding it."

I accepted a clear plastic cup full of a sickly-sweet pink drink from Ruby, who sipped hers gracefully. I simply downed it as quickly as possible, pouring myself a second cup. My friend was watching me with worry in her eyes again, but I ignored it. The pink stuff wasn't very helpful to my cause - it had almost no alcohol in it - but five swallows of tequila later, I was feeling very lightheaded. I bade Ruby farewell, being sure to keep steady on my feet as I made my way through the house.

"Really, Maeve? Tequila? Are you that stupid?" Simon's voice was right there beside me, insults and patronization being thrown at me as hard as possible. I tried to ignore it, wading through the crowd and stepping back into the living room, where people had pushed the furniture against the walls and a few clusters of people were dancing. I didn't recognise the song, but I began to weave through the throng anyway, moving to the rhythm with the rest of them.

I danced for an immeasurable time after that first song. They had a surprisingly good playlist, and the atmosphere made not dancing nearly impossible. The moment you stopped, someone grabbed your hand and pulled you back into the constantly moving group. I danced with many people, too, all the while searching for my distraction: a tall guy with curly hair, a girl whose nose piercing was shaped like a serpent, a pair of incredibly affectionate blonde twins, a blue-haired guy who I recognised from back home, a redheaded girl whose tattoos spiralled along her shoulders and up her neck like ivy.

It wasn't until the redheaded girl introduced me to a friend of hers that I had found him. He wasn't flawlessly gorgeous or anything - he wasn't even my type, really - but he was overly affectionate, his words and hands full of suggestions, and I was running out of time. Simon had been whispering in my ear the entire time, and I needed the distraction sooner than later. So, with that in mind, I began my concept of hasty flirting.

Which essentially meant that within the next five minutes we were in the laundry room in the basement, both of us moderately clothed and both of us trying to change that as quickly as possible. He trailed kisses down my neck, pulling at the zipper on the back of my dress, and I was tugging the hem of his shirt up. It wasn't romantic or gentle: it was hurried and desperate and, if I was being entirely honest, a bit awkward. I barely knew the guy's name (although I thought it started with a C) and I doubted he knew who I was. But he had his shirt and jeans on the floor, and my dress was just clinging to my frame. With one quick movement, it dropped to the linoleum tiles at our feet.

"Maeve Scarlet," a voice said from beside us. "I knew you slept around a bit, but a first-rate whore? I never would have thought." Simon's phantom had returned, something I had feared.

I pressed my lips to the stranger's desperately, needing the same fire that the alcohol from earlier had provided, the burn that ran down my throat and lit my chest up in flames. I walked forwards, pushing him up against the laundry room wall and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"It's that Ruby girl, isn't it?" Simon asked, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his ghost frown. "God, that's annoying. That pathetic slut is ruining my one true love. Well, ex-love, I suppose."

The guy reached behind my thighs, and picked me up; I complied, my legs going around his waist and allowing him to lift me on top of the dryer. He left a trail of love bites along my throat, which I didn't even think odd in the moment; I just needed his fire, the forcefulness of this distraction.

"Honestly, Maeve, I'm in your head. You can't make me jealous." But he didn't sound as cool as his words were: Simon's voice was full of anger and frustration, which sent a rush of triumph through me. Take that, you little bastard, I thought.

"Now you're just being immature. You're in love with me, Maeve Scarlet. Don't forget that." His voice was getting closer, and I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck as the stranger marched kisses along the front of it. "You're mine. You'll always be mine. I've been dead for years, and you still get teary-eyed over my betrayal!"

I ignored him, moulding my mouth to the stranger's and digging my fingers into his shoulders, pulling him against me as he clutched my sides so tightly it almost hurt.

"You can't ignore me, Maeve!" Simon said, his voice growing angrier. "You can't erase me. You should know - how often have you tried?" His laugh was a harsh sound that grated against my ears, making me cringe. But the stranger before me didn't seem to notice; he continued apace, brushing his lips along my throat in a way that made me wonder how often he did this.

"It's done," I murmured, pressing kisses along the boy's shoulder as he slid his fingers underneath my bra strap, his touch sending shivers along my skin. "It's done, Simon. It's all over." I knew I probably seemed crazy, whispering to myself while making out with a perfect stranger in someone else's laundry room, half drunk on tequila. But it didn't matter. I could hear Simon's voice becoming more and more distant, the further my distraction went.

"It's over," I whispered, running my hands along the stranger's bare shoulders. "It's over."

And Simon's voice disappeared altogether.

* * *

**Author's Note: So this chapter was a tad out of my comfort zone. I've never really written scenes like that last one, but I hope it turned out alright. ;) Also, I despised writing the slut-shaming in this chapter (I absolutely despise the word slut, and the whole concept of slut-shaming) but I thought it was sort of necessary to show more of phantom!Simon's character and personality: he's an ass. ;D **

**The update came exactly at midnight on the eighth, so I did keep my promise! Yay! ;) The next chapter will come within the next week or so (I'll probably post an author's note in future if it ever goes past a week). Thanks for the follows and favourites, as well as reviews. **

**Also, in answer to the most recent review (forty-first! Holy crap!): Will this story be Maeve/Pan? You will just have to wait and see. I don't give spoilers out in the open (if you really wanted to know my plans for Maeve's love life, I would PM you - but you're signed in as a Guest. Sorry.) :/ Anyway, hope that answer was satisfactory and cryptic enough. ;)**

**Thanks a ton for reading this chapter! :D You're all wonderful flowers, and continue to be amazing. Next update will be written and posted ASAP. :)**

**~ Corinne xoxo **


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